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Shakespeare Statue 

By J. A. A. Ward. On the Mall in Central Park, New York City, 
where both sides of a broad promenade are decorated with the 
statues of great writers. Photo by Ewing Galloway. 











SHAKESPEARE’S 

JULIUS CiUSAR/ 

WITH ITS HISTORICAL AND LITERARY 
BACKGROUND 


EDITED BY 

MAX J. HERZBERG 

i 

HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH, 
CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL, 
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY 



D. C. HEATH AND COMPANY 

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO LONDON 
ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO DALLAS 




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Copyright, 1928, 

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PREFACE 


The younger reader, and particularly the younger 
reader of our day, needs more, not less, help in dealing 
with a classic of the type of Julius Caesar than an older 
reader. Roman history is no longer studied minutely, 
but has been merged in an account of European or 
world history; and to understand Shakespeare’s 
references, more detailed apparatus must be provided. 

But this material must be presented in palatable 
form and with a particular appeal to the psychology of 
young people. It is hoped that students of all kinds 
will be able to read right through this edition with 
both pleasure and profit, since everywhere in it the 
effort has been made to be interesting and to maintain 
scholarship without pedantry. Everything that is 
provided by way of supplement to the text of the play 
is not merely valuable in itself, but may be read with 
profit quite aside from its bearing on the play. Nothing 
is neglected that a student of the play ought to know, 
but all information is given in a fashion that makes it 
easy to grasp. Editorial matter is not provided in the 
usual incidental fashion, but is made vitally significant 
for its own sake. 

Among the special features of the edition, these may 
be mentioned: 

1. Full preliminary explanations are given, as largely 
as possible in narrative form. In these explanations 
many of the difficulties of the play are carefully antici¬ 
pated, so that the student will not need to hesitate or to 
stumble over them when he comes to them in his 
reading. In these explanations, moreover, the effort is 


PREFACE 


iv 

made to correlate new matter with information that the 
student already has at his command. 

2. The pedagogical apparatus — questions on the 
text, examination of the dramatic technique, exercises, 
and the like — is extensive. It is placed at the back of 
the book, for most part, in order that only those who 
wish it may use it. 

3. The book is illustrated, and its appearance will 
please readers. 

4. Emphasis is laid on Julius Caesar as a play 
definitely intended for presentation on the stage. The 
history of the play in its own day and in the theater 
since Shakespeare is outlined; and particular attention 
is directed to the pages taken from Edwin Booth’s 
prompt-book of the play and to similar material ob¬ 
tained through the kindness of Mr. Robert B. Mantell 
and Mr. Fritz Leiber. 

5. Words are explained in the glossary on a dictionary 
plan. Those who need to know what a word means 
will find the explanation in a convenient and readily 
accessible way. 

6. Full notes on special points are given in a special 
section. The facts presented in this section are interest¬ 
ing in themselves; and students will carry away more 
than what is barely sufficient to explain the text. 

7. The section giving material for supplementary 
reading will enable teachers to surround the play to as 
great a degree as is desired with an atmosphere of 
history and literature. 

From the reading of the text as a whole students will 
carry away a complete idea of Julius Caesar and a great 
enrichment of the mind, with significant cultural infor¬ 
mation pleasurably acquired. 


M. J. H. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PAGE 

PREFACE. iii 

PART ONE: ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 

I. The Land of Italy . vii 

II. A Visit to Rome . xii 

III. A Boy in Ancient Rome . xvi 

IV. The Gods of the Romans .xxiii 

V. The Siege of Troy .xxix 

VI. How Rome was Founded and how its Kings 

were Driven Out . ..xxxv 

VII. How Rome Conquered the World . xli 

VIII. The Decay of the Republic .xlix 

IX. The Career of Julius C/Esar . lvi 

X. The Assassination of Caesar .lxiii 

XI. Augustus Caesar and the Greatness of Rome lxx 

PART TWO: SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 

I. Warwickshire and Stratford .lxxix 

II. The Age of Elizabeth .lxxxv 

III. William Shakespeare .xciv 

IV. London and the London Playhouses .... civ 

V. Shakespeare as a Playwright .cxiii 

VI. Shakespeare’s Language and Verse .... cxxiii 

VII. Julius Caesar as a Play .cxxx 

Dramatis Personae .cxiii 

THE TRAGEDY OF JULIUS C^SAR. 1 

APPENDIX 

PART ONE: PASSAGES OF FACT AND FICTION 
FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. Rome in Its Glory and Decay, by William 

Stearns Davis. 97 

v 




















VI 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

II. Anecdotes of Julius Caesar, as Reported by 

His Biographer Plutarch ..102 

III. Some Miscellanies: (a) The Triumph of 
Pompey. (6) The Colossus of Rhodes. 

(c) Roman Augurs and Auguries. ( d ) Clocks 
in Rome. ( e ) The Roman Army. (/) The 
Stoics.107 

PART TWO: STUDY SUGGESTIONS 

I. Word Study.120 

II. Questions on Character Analysis.123 

III. Questions on Stagecraft .127 

IV. The Play as a Whole. 132 

V. Questions and Exercises on the Meter of 

the Play.133 

VI. Exercises and Projects.135 

VII. Talks on Roman Manners and Customs . . 144 

VIII. Talks on Elizabethan Manners and Customs 145 

IX. Suggestions for Further Reading.146 

X. Miscellaneous Suggestions.149 

GLOSSARY.153 












ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 

CHAPTER I 

THE LAND OF ITALY 

Open my heart, and you will see 
Graved inside of it, italy. 

— Browning 

Italy, the land where many of the scenes of Julius 
Caesar take place, has been a great and important coun¬ 
try in both ancient and modern times. 

To-day “sunny Italy” is a powerful kingdom occupy¬ 
ing the peninsula that juts into the Mediterranean Sea 
from the Alps. Here forty million people live in a 
territory of more than a hundred thousand square miles. 
Under a hot sun the fertile soil yields rich harvests of 
grain, grapes, oranges, chestnuts, and olives. Iron, 
sulphur, and mercury add to the wealth of the land; 
and because of its numerous industries, such as silk¬ 
making, shipbuilding, glassmaking, and engineering, 
Italy holds a high place in the world of commerce. 

“On the whole,” says William Stearns Davis, of Italy, 
“it is the most favored land bordering the Mediter¬ 
ranean, if not — area considered — in the entire world.” 

The industry and thrift of the Italian people are pro¬ 
verbial. The overflow of population in their homeland 
has brought about a constant emigration to other coun¬ 
tries; and the United States, in particular, has received 
from Italy many millions of active workmen, skilled 
and unskilled. 

Throughout its history Italy has been famous for 
dramatic events. Famous men and women have 

vii 


viii ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


through the ages made Italy notable; great statesmen, 
great writers, great artists, great musicians, great 
inventors, great leaders of religion. Among the great 
statesmen may be mentioned Cavour, who helped to 
make Italy the nation it is to-day by joining into a 
single commonwealth the various sections into which 
the country had for centuries been split. Greatest of 
Italian writers was Dante, who wrote a splendid epic of 
the afterworld, The Divine Comedy, with its three sec¬ 
tions: Inferno, Purgatory, Paradise. Italy has produced 
more great painters and sculptors, perhaps, than any 
other land; most famous of them are Michelangelo and 
Raphael, whose works of art are the universal admiration 
of mankind. 

Great musicians, too, have come from Italy, which 
has no rival except Germany in the field of grand opera. 
Rossini, Verdi, and Puccini have written some of the 
most melodious of modern music dramas. Most noted 
of Italian inventors is, without question, Marconi, 
whose work with the wireless made possible that modern 
miracle. No man of religion for many centuries has 
made a deeper impression on all the world than St. 
Francis of Assisi, whose lowly, poetic character is re¬ 
vered by peoples of all religions. 

Each year thousands of tourists visit Italy in order 
to see and admire the astonishing wealth of interesting 
things to be seen in that land. Wandering under the 
beautiful blue skies of Italy, they visit the cathedrals 
of Rome and Milan and the art galleries of these cities 
and of Florence. They admire the harbor of Naples, 
with Vesuvius flaming or rumbling at its center. They 
inspect the great workshops of the land, the lemon and 
chestnut groves, the remains of ancient and mediaeval 
times, the magnificent palaces of the Renaissance 


THE LAND OF ITALY ix 

period, the canals of Venice, and Corsica, birthplace of 
Napoleon. 

Always to-day the Italians remember that they are 
the descendants and the heirs of the ancient Romans, 
and they are proud in this memory. To the intelligent 
Italian, Julius Csesar and ancient Rome still live in the 
influence they continue to exert on modern times. An 
Italian who knows the history of his remarkable land 
will point to evidence everywhere that the Romans of 
old are not forgotten. In the government of his country 
and of the Church, in the remains of ancient roads and 
aqueducts and forums, in the character of his literature, 
in customs handed down from Roman times, and in 
other ways Italy is still Rome. 

Chiefly, of course, he will point to the language that 
Italians speak. Italian is a direct descendant of the 
Latin that the Romans spoke, just as French, Spanish, 
Portuguese, and Rumanian are descendants from the 
same language. Rut Italian is closest of all to Latin. 
It was more than an allegory when in The Divine 
Comedy Dante described his journey through the next 
world and told how Virgil, greatest of Roman authors, 
became his guide as he entered the portals of Inferno. 
As Virgil guided Dante, so Latin and Latin literature 
have guided modern Italian literature. 

Here is a description of the advantages of Italy as an 
ancient writer, Strabo, saw them: 

“We shall now summarize the qualities which have 
helped raise the Romans to so great a height of pros¬ 
perity. One point is its insular position, by which it 
is securely guarded; for the seas form a natural protec¬ 
tion round it, with the exception of a short frontier, 
which too is fortified by almost impassable mountains. 
A second is that the harbors, though few, are capacious 


X ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


and admirably situated. They are of great service for 
enterprises against foreign places, for defence against 
invasions, and for the reception of abundant merchan¬ 
dise. A third advantage is the climate, in which ani¬ 
mals and plants may be accommodated with every 
variety of mild and severe temperature. In length it ex¬ 
tends north and south; Sicily, a large island, we must 
consider an addition to it. 

“Situated as it is between the extremes of heat and 
cold, and having such a length, it enjoys a great variety 
of temperate climate. This advantage is increased by 
another feature; the Apennines extend through its 
whole length, and leave on each side plains and fruitful 
hills; so that there is no district which does not enjoy 
the best products of both hill and plain.” 

Brief Quiz 

1. Where is Italy? What are its area and population? 
2. What are some of the products of Italy? What are some 
of its industries? 3. Why is the United States especially 
interested in the Italian people? 4. Name one great states¬ 
man Italy has produced; a great writer, a great artist, a great 
musician, a great inventor, a great man of religion. 5. What 
things of interest do tourists find in Italy? 6. What are some 
of the ways in which modern Italy is still connected with 
ancient Rome? 7. Of what language is Italian an offshoot? 
What other languages come from the same source? 

Exercises and Projects 

1. Bring to class a full report on the place of Italy in 
modern commerce. Tell particularly about its trade with 
America. 

2. Have you ever made a trip to Italy? Do you know any 
one who has traveled through that land? Have you relatives 
or friends who were born there? Give from your own expe¬ 
rience or from the experience of others some interesting and 


THE LAND OF ITALY 


xi 


entertaining facts about Italy. How do parts of the country 
iookP What are some strange or beautiful sights? What are 
some quaint customs of the people? 

3. What is the name of the greatest living Italian states¬ 
man? Tell, briefly, the story of his career. 

4. Bring to class reproductions of some famous works of 
art by Italian masters or a poem by an Italian writer or a 
piece of music by an Italian composer. 

5. Has English been influenced by the Latin? Mention 
some words of Latin derivation in English. 


/ 


CHAPTER II 

A VISIT TO ROME 

Everyone soon or late comes round by Rome. — Browning 

The Forum , where the immortal accents glow , 

And still the eloquent air breathes — burns with Cicero. 

— Byron 

You are traveling (let us imagine) in Italy, and you 
have come to Rome, “the Eternal City.” What inter¬ 
esting sights should you want to visit? What memories 
of the storied past would these sights recall? 

You may, perhaps, begin by visiting the noble dome 
of St. Peter’s Cathedral and the Sistine Chapel, monu¬ 
ments to the genius of Michelangelo, Raphael, and other 
great artists. If you ascend to the dome itself, one 
hundred and fifty feet above the level of the ground, 
you see a mighty panorama: Rome itself is spread 
before you, the cradle of a great civilization. In the 
distance lie the Tiber, the Mediterranean Sea, the Ap- 
ennine Mountains. 

In the Sistine Chapel is the famous series by Michel¬ 
angelo: The Creation, The Deluge, and The Last Judg¬ 
ment; and in the Vatican near by you may stand in awe 
before many paintings of Raphael. 

The Coliseum may next attract you. Ruilt by several 
Roman emperors, this great amphitheater, ruined as 
it is, testifies to the magnificence of the Roman rule. 
The Coliseum was used for combats of gladiators and 
wild beasts. Sometimes the arena was filled with water, 
and it became the scene of nautical displays. It is 
estimated that it held seats for eighty-seven thousand 
persons, with standing room for twenty thousand more, 
xii 


A VISIT TO ROME 


xiii 

Over the great ruins the soft earth has fallen, and from 
it trailing plants have sprung; wild flowers bloom there 
in season, and the long grass nods in the breeze. The 
bright lizard darts like green fire along the walls; and 
birds fill the hollow arena with song. 

For a student of Julius Caesar, however, there can be 
no place in Rome more attractive than the ruins of the 
Forum. In its height of glory, at the time of the Roman 
emperors who came after Caesar, the Roman Forum 
must have been one of the world’s wonders, with its 
temples to the gods, its statues, its pillars and arches, its 
rostra for speakers. Here, one remembers, Cicero and 
Caesar spoke. It was, in ancient times, at the exact 
center of the city, with the seven hills of Rome grouped 
picturesquely around it. In the Forum met all the po¬ 
litical and all the commercial activities of Rome. The 
ground, at first swampy, was drained in time, and the 
Forum became an increasingly important part of the 
city. Gradually to the chief Forum were added others, 
until there were six in all. They covered twenty- 
five and one-half acres; in them people gathered for 
business, for meeting in public, for promenading, and 
for political purposes. 

Thence you may wander to many other places of 
interest in Rome. Everywhere the eye is filled with 
beautiful landscapes and impressive buildings. There 
are palaces and ruins, gardens and statuary, distant 
views of villas and cottages, triumphal arches and 
columns, galleries crammed with art treasures, churches, 
shops, and the river. 

You may visit the ruined tombs along the Via Appia 
(or Appian Road). You may go to St. John Lateran, 
older even than St. Peter’s. You may cross the Tiber 
on any of a number of bridges, some of which date back 


xiv ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


far into ancient times. You may gaze at Trajan’s 
Column, almost a hundred feet high and bearing pic¬ 
tures that show the achievements of this Roman 
conqueror. You may marvel at the Baths of Caracalla, 
regarded by some as the most imposing object in Rome 
with the exception of the Coliseum; it is a huge struc¬ 
ture, that makes the beholder think with awe of the 
greatness of its builders. You may turn to the Arch 
of Titus, with its reminders of the sack of Jerusalem by 
this Roman general. You may stand astonished before 
the marvelous arches of the old aqueducts, or wander 
in the ruins of the palace of the Caesars. 

Rome still grows and still raises to the sky new build¬ 
ings, so that none may doubt the greatness of the modern 
inhabitants of the city. One of the most magnificent 
of the recent memorials is that erected as a reminder of 
the World War. 

One can well understand why Lord Byron, the great 
English poet, when he gazed on the ruins of ancient 
Rome before the activity of Italy reborn added new 
glories to the old, should have exclaimed: 

O Rome! my country! city of the soul! 

The orphans of the heart must turn to thee, 

Lone mother of dead empires! and control 
In their shut breasts their petty misery. 

What are our woes and sufferance? Come and see 
The cypress, hear the owl, and plod your way 
O’er steps of broken thrones and temples. 


Brief Quiz 

1. For what is St. Peter’s noted? 2. What glories of art 
does the Sistine Chapel hold? 3. Give some facts as to the 
Coliseum. 4. What could one find in the ancient Roman 
Forum? How many forums were there altogether? 5. What 
are some other places of interest in Rome? 6. What, accord- 


A VISIT TO ROME 


xv 


ing to some travelers, is the most imposing object in Rome 
aside from the Coliseum? 7. Name a modern memorial of 
Rome. 8. Give one phrase that Ryron applied to Rome. 
Why did he refer to the cypress and the owl? 

Exercises and Projects 

1. Read one of the following books, and bring to class some 
additional facts as to Rome: George S. Hillard’s Six Months 
in Italy; Francis Wey’s Rome; Charles Dickens’s Pictures 
from Italy; Caroline A. Mason’s The Spell of Italy. 

2. Read the fourth canto of Lord Byron’s Childe Harold , 
and select what you think is the finest stanza dealing with 
Rome. 

3. Write a letter, as if from Rome, describing some of your 
experiences in the Eternal City. 

4. Bring to class as many pictures as you can find of scenes 
in Rome, particularly of places mentioned in this chapter. 


CHAPTER III 

A BOY IN ANCIENT ROME 

“ Civ is Romanus sum.” It was the proudest boast of the inhabitants 

of the ancient world to be able to say: “ I am a Roman citizen. ” 

The City that by temperance, fortitude, 

And love of glory towered above the clouds. 

■— Rogers 

If you had been Marcus Cornelius Paulus, a Roman 
lad, you would have been very proud of your name. 
For your name indicated the famous family to which 
you belonged, and on it depended your social standing, 
even your property rights. 

The most important part of this name was the second, 
Cornelius. This was the nomen. Marcus was the 
praenomen, and Paulus the cognomen. The nomen was 
the name of the gens or clan to which the boy belonged, 
the cognomen showed the branch of the clan, and the 
praenomen was his given name. 

Marcus wore a special toga with a purple hem; when 
he reached manhood, this would be exchanged for the 
famous white toga of the Roman citizen. A line in 
Virgil speaks of 

Romans, lords of the world, the race that is clad with the toga. 

This toga usually was put on with the help of a slave. 
Spread out, it was oval in form; and after it had been 
adjusted, one end was thrown over the left shoulder. 
A victorious general wore a toga all of purple. 

All Romans of good family were educated in Greek — 
the language and the literature, as well as in their own 
tongue and writers. Marcus would receive his training 
partly from a well-educated slave, who was frequently 


XVI 


A BOY IN ANCIENT ROME xvii 

his personal attendant, took him to school every morn¬ 
ing, waited for him until his lessons were over, and some¬ 
times carried his books for him. 

The boy would learn reading, writing, and arithme¬ 
tic. Usually he studied carefully the fundamental laws 
of Rome, known as the “Laws of the Twelve Tables.” 
As he progressed, he studied literature, especially 
poetry, and particularly the great Greek poet Homer, 
author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. These contained 
stories of the Trojan War and of the wanderings of 
Ulysses. With the study of literature went history, 
mythology, geography, and language. The teachers of 
these subjects were usually Greek slaves, prisoners of 
war perhaps, often well-born and well-educated persons. 
They had a great influence on their pupils. In particu¬ 
lar, those that wished to attain high rank in literature 
or in politics learned from Greek teachers the rules of 
writing and of speaking — the art of rhetoric, as it was 
called. Their aim was to learn above all how to speak 
in public and how to present an argument in a persuasive 
way. Sometimes a Roman youth would even visit 
some city in Greece, in order to attend there a famous 
school of rhetoric. 

Some of the most important lessons that Marcus 
would learn, however, he learned at home. The pater¬ 
familias, or head of the Roman family, exerted great 
authority over every member of the family; and the 
first lesson a Roman lad would learn would be that of 
instant obedience and of deep reverence for his elders. 
In the best days of the Roman Republic a boy would 
be constantly with his father. He would assist his father 
at his work if he were a farmer; if the family lived in the 
city, he helped him to receive guests, he accompanied 
him when he went to speak in the Forum, he watched 


xviii ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


him at his daily business. At home the Roman boy 
learned respect for the gods, and a sense of truth and 
honor was instilled in him. 

How the old Roman houses looked we can still learn 
from those that have been excavated at Pompeii, that 
ancient city which was covered by an inundation of lava 
from Mount Vesuvius, and which lay concealed for 
centuries. The exterior of the houses was very plain, 
and there were no windows in front. Originally a Ro¬ 
man house consisted of only an oblong room, called the 
atrium. This was the living room, the kitchen, the 
dining room, and the bedroom. To give light there was 
a hole in the roof, through which the rain fell, to be 
caught in a basin beneath; there was only one door, 
with the hearth opposite to it. 

But as the Romans accumulated wealth and became 
more inclined to luxury, they built bigger and more 
comfortable homes. Marcus lived in a house in which 
the principal room was still the atrium. But now this 
was only the living room, and around it were a number 
of smaller rooms in which the members of the family 
slept, and in which their goods were stored. To the rear 
of the atrium wa^ the special office of the master of the 
house, who kept here his valuables and papers; and 
beyond this was the peristyle, a court open to the sky 
and surrounded by a colonnade. Farther to the rear 
was usually the dining room, and back of that the 
kitchen. The floor of the atrium was usually a mosaic, 
pieces of colored stone skillfully pieced together to 
make a picture. The walls and ceiling were often deco¬ 
rated. In the peristyle a fountain played, and surround¬ 
ing it were fragrant and beautiful flowers. 

Sometimes the Roman houses were heated by 
furnaces, from which warmed air would be conveyed 


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A BOY IN ANCIENT ROME 


xix 


by pipes to the floors of some of the rooms, but generally 
a Roman kept warm in winter by putting on more 
clothing. Charcoal braziers were, however, customary 
in many houses. 

Marcus, like other Roman men and boys, wore only 
one piece of jewelry — a signet ring. But his mother % 
and sisters wore rings, brooches, pins, bracelets, neck¬ 
laces, and earrings. The Roman lady wore an inner 
tunic with short sleeves, a long outer tunic, and an outer 
garment like the toga when she went out of doors. 
Often the outer garment was drawn up to make a hood 
for the head. Men and women alike wore sandals, 
those for the women often being highly embroidered. 

The day of the Romans was determined entirely by 
the hours of sunrise and sunset. The actual day fell 
into twelve parts. If Marcus on any particular day was 
with his father from sunrise to the time he retired for the 
night, he began by sitting with him at his breakfast — 
usually very light,* consisting possibly of a few olives 
or bread dipped in wine or honey, or a little cheese. 
His father attended to his letters, received business 
callers, and took care of his clients , those who sought 
favors from him. 

Then father and son set out to the heart of the city. 
Crossing a bridge over the Tiber, they came to the foot 
of the Palatine Hill. They found themselves in the 
cattle market. But more than cattle were bought and 
sold here, and the boy would gaze with curiosity at 
the numerous shops and listen to the bargaining that 
went on busily in them. 

As they passed out of the cattle market, father and 
son would come shortly to a valley between the Palatine 
and Aventine Hills; and here was the Circus Maximus , 
from very early times the place of amusement of the 


XX ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


Romans. In the days before the republic the country 
folk had played their games here, and in the course 
of time more seats and shelters had been added, and in 
still later days it became capable of holding one hundred 
and fifty thousand spectators. 
f As they left the Circus Maximus, Marcus and his 
father reached the Via Sacra, or Sacred Highway, per¬ 
haps the ancient world’s most famous street. Originally 
it derived its name from the religious rites which were 
performed on it, in connection with a procession to the 
Temple of Jupiter, chief of the Roman gods. Along the 
Via Sacra passed the triumphal parades of victorious 
Roman generals, great processions in which the con¬ 
queror and his army led in triumph hosts of the defeated 
people and carried the spoils that had been captured. 

This road wound through the heart of Rome, varying 
in width at different places. Beside it were some of the 
most important buildings in the city. It passed through 
the Forum, at the entrance to which stood various 
temples. At one point Marcus would see the rostra, 
a platform ornamented with the beaks or prows of ships 
captured in battle. From this orators addressed the 
Roman crowd and sought to obtain their votes. Nearby 
was the assembly place of the people. He saw the 
senate house and the law court and the state prison; and 
so, at the end of the Via Sacra, he reached the Capitol. 
On the Capitol itself stood the great Temple of Jupiter. 
Here came the magistrates to take their oaths of office; 
here came victorious generals to offer the booty that 
they had taken in warfare against the enemies of Rome. 

In one of the buildings near the Capitol and on the 
road to it Marcus and his father might pause, to listen 
to a speech from the rostra, to attend a law suit in the 
law court, or to hear an argument in the senate house. 


A BOY IN ANCIENT ROME 


xxi 


On their way home, and all business was generally 
completed by the sixth or seventh hour, they perhaps 
stopped to take part in some ceremony, such as the 
naming of the child of a friend on its ninth day, or the 
assuming of the toga by a boy reaching manhood, or 
a wedding. 

The noonday meal was simple, consisting of bread, 
wine, nuts, and fruits. Then every one in Rome took 
his noonday nap, or siesta; and the streets of the city 
were completely deserted. In the late afternoon Ro¬ 
mans went to the baths or the gymnasium. The baths 
were elaborate affairs, containing not only facilities for 
exercising and cleanliness but libraries and art galleries 
as well. 

The evening meal was the chief one of the day. 
Couches on which three people took their ease were used 
instead of chairs. The meal began with prayers to the 
gods; and in the best days of Rome only three courses 
were served. But later, as the products of the civilized 
world began to pour into the city, meals became more 
and more elaborate; and oysters from Britain found 
their place on the table alongside a boar’s head from 
Asia Minor. 


Brief Quiz 

1. What were the three parts of a Roman name? What did 
each indicate? 2. What toga did a Roman boy wear? A Roman 
citizen? A Roman conqueror? 3. What did the Roman boy 
study besides the language and literature of his own peo¬ 
ple? Who gave him instruction in this subject? 4. What 
art did Romans of ambition particularly study? 5. What 
lessons did a Roman boy learn at home? 6. Describe a Ro¬ 
man house. 7. What did Roman ladies wear? 8. How was 
the Roman day determined and divided? 9. What did a 
Roman gentleman do in the morning? 10. Describe a walk 


xxii ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


through Rome. 11. Who was Jupiter? 12. Tell about the 
three Roman meals. 13. What was the Via Sacra? 
14. Where did Romans go for amusement? For exercise? 

Exercises and Projects 

1. Ering to class further information as to one of the fol¬ 
lowing topics: 1 a. dress of a Roman gentleman, b. dress of 
a Roman lady, c. the Roman house, d. the excavations at 
Pompeii, e. education in ancient Rome, /. Roman amuse¬ 
ments, g. appearance of the Roman Forum in the first cen¬ 
tury before Christ, h. the Circus Maximus, i. the Via Sacra, 
j. what the Romans ate. 

2. Marcus, talking to a friend, describes some of the 
things taught him in school. 

3. Discuss this argument: It would be more interesting to 
be a schoolboy in the time of Julius Caesar than it is to-day. 

4. Rring to class a report on Jennie Hall’s Buried Cities , 
laying particular emphasis on the section dealing with Pom¬ 
peii. 


1 See list of books on page 148. 


CHAPTER IV 

THE GODS OF THE ROMANS 

To the mean person the myth always means little; to 
the noble person, much. — John Ruskin 

When a Roman lad began to learn about the gods 
of his people, one fact was soon impressed upon him. 
These gods, he was told, were practically identical with 
those of Greece; and he was taught the tales associated 
with the Greek gods, demigods, and heroes as faithfully 
as he was those of his own people. 

Ry means of the siege of Troy, moreover, the ancient 
legends of Rome were intimately bound up with those 
of Greece; and from the Trojan prince yEneas the 
Roman people traced its descent. 

So the Roman, like the Greek, learned that the gods 
of the world lived on Mount Olympus, a high mountain 
in Thessaly in northern Greece. There the chief of the 
gods, Jupiter (sometimes called Jove), reigned supreme 
as king of gods and men; and at his side sat his consort, 
Juno, goddess of marriage. Jove had created mankind; 
and once, when men fell into wickedness and sin, he 
destroyed them all in a great flood, leaving only one 
man and one woman to repopulate the world. 

Among the other gods who dwelt on Olympus were 
Phoebus Apollo, god of the sun, of poetry, of medicine; 
and Minerva, goddess of wisdom. There too were Mer¬ 
cury, messenger of the gods; Ceres, the goddess of 
agriculture; Mars, the god of war; Venus, the goddess 
of love; Vulcan, the god of the forge; Diana, goddess of' 
the moon and of hunting; Vesta, goddess of the home, 
and Neptune, god of the sea. 

xxiii 


xxiv ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 

Each of these deities, as he appeared in representa¬ 
tions by painters or scupltors, was recognizable by one 
or more symbols. 

Jupiter had his eagle and his sheaf of thunderbolts, 
for he was the god of the storm. Beside Juno strutted 
the peacock. Neptune had a three-tined fishhook 
called the trident, and in his wake sported dolphins. 
Apollo had a musical instrument called the lyre on his 
knee, at his back liung' a sheaf of arrows darting forth 
rays of the sun, and he rode in a splendid chariot. A 
famous statue of Apollo was the huge Colossus, at 
Rhodes. To Hermes belonged a cap that made him 
invisible when he went on his missions for the gods; 
his sandals were provided with little wings, and he car¬ 
ried a rod intertwined with serpents, called the caduceus. 

Mars, clad in warlike armor, was followed by vultures, 
that prey on battlefields, and by dogs — we still speak 
of “the dogs of war.” Vulcan had his anvil and forge, 
Vesta the fire on the hearth. The chariot of Venus was 
drawn by doves or sparrows. Minerva’s symbol was 
the wise-looking bird, the owl; she carried, too, a shield, 
called the aegis, and on this was fixed the head of the 
monstrous maiden, Medusa the Gorgon, and whosoever 
gazed on this was turned to stone. 

The sign of Ceres was a cornucopia, or horn of plenty; 
she wore a wreath of poppies, and beside her was a sheaf 
of wheat. Diana had a crescent moon in her hair, and 
at her side was a stag. 

The gods, when they feasted on Mount Olympus, ate 
a divine food called ambrosia, and they drank a divine 
liquor called nectar. Their cupbearer was the beautiful 
maiden Hebe; and when she was wed to the great hero 
Hercules, Ganymede, a handsome youth snatched from 
the plains of Troy, took her place. 



Jupiter, King of the Gods 

Photo by Alinari, Rome. 




Diana 

Goddess of the moon, of hunting, and of maidens. A crescent moon 
adorns her hair. Photo by Alinari. 



THE GODS OF THE ROMANS 


XXV 


The Romans and the Greeks believed that the souls 
of those that died went to a place in the underworld 
called Hades , and this was ruled over by a brother of 
Jupiter — Pluto, or Plutus, god of the dead and god of 
wealth. His wife was the lovely Proserpina, daughter 
of Ceres. 

Hades was divided into numerous sections. In dark 
Erebus the shades of the dead wandered silently to and 
fro like fallen leaves. In Elysium the souls of great poets 
and heroes enjoyed an endless paradise. In Tartarus 
those who had been condemned to punishment suffered 
torments. 

Other gods who were familiar to the Romans and the 
Greeks were Racchus, the god of wine and of drama, 
whose car was drawn by leopards and whose symbol 
was the grapevine; Cupid, son of Venus, whose duty it 
was to excite love in those whom his arrows pierced; 
and Pan, the god of universal nature. 

There were, too, groups of deities. There were the 
nine Muses, who presided over poetry and music; the 
three Graces, the three Fates, the Hours, the Seasons, 
and others. The Satyrs and Fauns were animal-like 
creatures who followed Racchus and Pan. Nymphs 
of many kinds haunted the trees, the fountains, the 
mountains, and the waves. 

A favorite of the Romans was the Greek hero Her¬ 
cules. On him, as a penance for a misdeed, had been 
imposed the performance of twelve tasks or labors, such 
as the slaying of various monsters, the capture of strange 
beasts, and other difficult feats. Hercules was a great 
wanderer, and he performed his deeds of strength and 
courage in many parts of the world. In ancient times 
the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea that we call 
Gibraltar was named “the Pillars of Hercules.” 


xxvi ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


In addition to these divinities whom the Romans 
and the Greeks had in common, Rome and Italy had 
other gods that were peculiar to them alone. Saturn 
was the chief of these (although some identify him with 
Cronos, the father of Jupiter). He was the god of 
sowing, and it was believed of him that he had intro¬ 
duced agriculture into Italy. During the age when 
Saturn reigned supreme, all was well with mankind 
and the world; and that time was called “the Golden 
Age of Saturn.” Each year, at the end of December, 
the Romans paid honor to Saturn in the feasts called 
the Saturnalia. These feasts were times of mirth and 
rejoicing, when all business ceased and the schools were 
closed. Friends exchanged presents with one another, 
and it was not permitted to declare war at this period. 

Another important Roman god was Janus. His 
statues showed him with two faces, and the first month 
of the year was named after him, as the god of begin¬ 
nings and as one who looked back to the old and for¬ 
ward to the new. He presided, too, over gates, which 
look in two directions. A covered passage in Rome was 
dedicated to him, and the gate of this was closed only 
in time of peace. Most often it was not closed. 

Rellona was a Roman goddess of war; Fortuna was 
the goddess of fortune; Terminus presided over bound¬ 
aries. Pomona was the deity of fruit trees, Flora of 
flowers, Hymen of marriage. 

Lupercus and Luperca were two deities who were 
worshipped originally by shepherds as those who pro¬ 
tected their flocks from wolves and brought fertility 
to their fields. But even when the inhabitants of Rome 
had long since ceased to be farmers, the festival of these 
gods — called the Lupercalia — continued to be cele¬ 
brated with much reverence. 


THE GODS OF THE ROMANS xxvii 

The Romans had household gods whom they 
venerated deeply — the Lares and Penates. These 
were the spirits of the departed, who still watched over 
the clan or family to which they belonged. Little images 
of them stood over the hearth; and even in our own 
homes it is still possible, strange to say, to find occasion¬ 
ally a little ledge left for these images over our fireplaces. 

To the Romans the river on which their great city 
stood was more than a stream of water; it was a living 
person. They paid tribute, therefore, to Father Tiber 
as to one of the gods. 

When a great man died among the Romans, he was 
often regarded as having joined the gods themselves, 
and he was reverenced as one of the gods. So when 
Caesar died, he was worshipped as a god, and a temple 
was erected in his honor and he was called Divus Julius , 
the divine Julius. 

Brief Quiz 

1. The gods and legends of what people were accepted by 
the Romans as identical with their own? 2. What hero was 
regarded as the ancestor of the Romans? 3. Where did the 
gods live? 4. Name the chief gods. 5. Identify each by his 
symbols. 6. What were the food and drink of the gods? 
7. What was the afterworld of the ancients called? 8. Who 
ruled over it? 9. Name its divisions. 10. Who was Bac¬ 
chus? Pan? The Muses? Hercules? 11. Name some gods 
peculiar to the Romans. 12. What were the Saturnalia? The 
Lupercalia? 13. What were the Lares and Penates? 
14. Who was Father Tiber? 15. How did the Romans show 
their veneration for their great heroes? Give an example. 

Exercises and Projects 

1. Make a table of the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece 
and Rome. Use three columns, in the first of which appears 
the name of the deity, in the second his powers or realm, and 
in the third his symbols. 


xxviii ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 

2. Explain the italicized word in each of the following 
passages from Julius Caesar: 

(1) You know it is the feast of Lupercal. — I, i. 

(2) Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world 
Like a Colossus, and we petty men 

Walk under his huge legs. — I, ii. 

(3) When went there by an age, since the great flood, 

But it was famed with more than with one man? — I, ii. 

(4) Not Erebus itself were dim enough 
To hide thee. — II, i. 

(5) Hence! wilt thou lift up Olympus? — III, i. 

(6) Let slip the dogs of war. — III, ii. 

(7) A heart 
Dearer than Plutus ’ mine. — IV, iii. 

3. If the Romans were living to-day, what new gods would 
they create? To whom would they assign control over radio? 
Electricity? The automobile? The airplane? Newspapers? 
Write a paragraph of about one hundred words on this topic, 
giving your ideas on the subject. 

4. Bring to class some instances of the use of mythology in 
advertising. For example, what pencil is named after a 
goddess? What automobile after another goddess? 

5. Invent a story in which one of the ancient deities plays 
a part. 

6. From the names of what gods are the following words 
derived? — jovial, mercurial, cereal, martial, plutocrat, panic, 
museum, herculean, Saturday, saturnine, January, janitor, 
floral, pomology. What does each of these words mean? 


CHAPTER Y 

THE SIEGE OF TROY 

And strike to dust the imperial toivrs of Troy. — Pope 

One story which was particularly popular in the 
Roman schools, as has been said, was that of the siege 
of Troy, because to a Trojan hero the Roman state 
traced back its origin. 

According to the legend handed down in Greek litera¬ 
ture, a beautiful nymph of the sea named Thetis was 
betrothed to a mortal king named Peleus. To their 
marriage feast all the gods and goddesses were invited, 
but by some mischance the goddess of Discord, Ate, 
was forgotten. The guests arrived and were making 
merry, when suddenly in their midst appeared the ugly 
form of Ate, with a most wonderfully beautiful apple 
in her hand. Scornfully she threw the apple upon the 
table, cried, “For the fairest!” and disappeared. 

Immediately a great quarrel arose over the possession 
of the apple. It was one of the golden apples of the Hes- 
perides, and was more beautiful than any jewel. Finally 
the contest as to its ownership narrowed down to three 
persons — Juno, queen of heaven; Minerva, the god¬ 
dess of wisdom; and Venus, the goddess of beauty. 
They appealed to Jupiter to settle the dispute, but the 
father of gods and men wisely refused to interfere and 
referred them to a handsome shepherd lad named Paris, 
who was tending his flocks on Mount Ida near Troy, 
a city in Asia Minor. 

Now Paris was really the son of Priam, the king of 
Troy, and not much later he was recognized as such and 


XXIX 


xxx ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


restored to his rights as a prince of his country. When 
the three goddesses appeared before him, he was dazzled 
by their power and beauty. Each appealed to him to 
have the decision given in her favor; one promising him 
mighty power, the second great wisdom, and the 
third the most beautiful woman in the world as his 
wife. 

He decided in favor of Venus, who had offered him 
the last gift; and soon he was on his way to Sparta in 
Greece, where lived Helen, the wife of Menelaus. Helen 
was universally recognized as indeed the most beautiful 
of all women. With the assistance of Venus, Paris 
persuaded Helen to elope with him, and they fled to 
Troy. As soon as it was known how and where she 
had disappeared, Menelaus summoned the other chief¬ 
tains of Greece to aid him in getting Helen back again 
and in punishing Paris and the land from which Paris 
had come. A great army assembled. Among the great 
leaders, besides Menelaus himself, were his brother 
Agamemnon, mightiest of warriors; the wily Ulysses, 
the sage Nestor, the brave Achilles. The army landed 
in Troy and besieged the city. For ten years the war 
continued, with victory coming now to one army, now 
to the other. Among the bravest of the Trojan warriors 
were Hector, the brother of Paris, and /Eneas, who was 
the son of a Trojan prince, Anchises, and of the goddess 
Venus. Before the ten years were over, Achilles and 
Hector and Paris himself had been slain. 

But at last, by means of a cunning strategem, the 
Greeks won possession of the city. For the Greeks 
pretended to accept defeat, and withdrew their armies. 
They left behind them a huge wooden horse, inside of 
which were hidden a number of Greek warriors. A 
Greek spy now appeared and allowed himself to be cap- 


THE SIEGE OF TROY 


XXXI 


tured by the Trojans. Apparently with much reluc¬ 
tance, he told them that the wooden horse had been 
made so large purposely in order to prevent its being 
taken within the city. Once in the city, he said, the 
horse would win for the Trojans the great favor of Mi¬ 
nerva. Hardly were the words out of his mouth when the 
Trojans began to tear down part of the wall of the city 
so that the horse might be dragged within. All day 
long the Trojans feasted and rejoiced. At last night 
came, and happy sleep fell upon the city. Then slowly 
a secret door in the side of the wooden horse opened, and 
out crept the hidden Greeks. Meanwhile the other 
Greeks had landed again, and were hastening toward 
Troy, which they entered by the broken wall. Suddenly, 
from both within and from without, the Greeks fell 
upon, the unsuspecting Trojans; and in a little while 
the city was on fire and thousands of Trojans had been 
slain. It was not long before Troy was entirely in the 
hands of the Greeks. 

As /Eneas lay asleep that night, he was visited by a 
dream in which Hector appeared to him and bade him 
fly with the sacred images of the gods of Troy. When 
he awakened, he climbed to the roof of his house to 
reconnoiter. To his amazement, the city was all ablaze. 
Like a good warrior he resolved to make his way to the 
midst of the battle, there to fight and there to die. 
When he reached the center of the city, all seemed lost. 
He prepared to sell his life dearly, and around him rallied 
a few other valiant spirits. As they rushed along the 
fire-lit streets, some Greeks mistook them for their 
comrades. Before they could learn their error, .Eneas 
and his friends slew them. The Trojans put on the ar¬ 
mor of their foes, and so disguised they managed to 
surprise and kill a number of the Greeks. But soon 


xxxii ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


their disguise was penetrated, and most of the friends 
of /Eneas were slain. 

Then he made his way to the palace of Priam, and 
there he found a terrible struggle in progress. In a 
little while the Greeks forced the main entrance to the 
palace. Priam himself was killed; and as the aged man 
fell, /Eneas thought of his own aged father, of his wife, 
and of his little son lulus. Just at this moment he 
caught sight of the beautiful Helen, because of whom 
Troy was being destroyed. He was about to slay her 
when Venus appeared to him in a vision and stayed 
his hand. She made it clear to him that it was the 
purpose of the gods to destroy Troy and that nothing 
he could do could prevent the fate of the city. 

/Eneas then made his way home, determined to seek 
his father. But when he found him, Anchises refused 
to depart, declaring that he would not survive the fall 
of his city. So /Eneas resolved that he would return to 
the heat of the bat tle again and die, but his wife would 
not let him go. Just then a strange light played around 
the head of the little boy lulus; and Anchises, whose 
friendship with Venus had given him the powers of a 
seer, recognized the halo as a sign from Jupiter of the 
boy’s future greatness. He told them he would go, 
and all prepared to leave. 

They hurried along, and soon it was evident that An¬ 
chises was too old to maintain the speed that was re¬ 
quired. /Eneas, therefore, took him upon his shoulders; 
and leading his son and followed by his wife, he made his 
way out of the burning city. But in the flight and in the 
confusion, the wife of /Eneas was separated from him 
and lost. Outside the city many other refugees were 
gathered, who put themselves under the leadership of 
/Eneas. After several months they built a fleet and 



tEneas Bears Anchises from Burning Troy 
The father carries an image of the household god. Behind follows lulus. 
Photo by Alinari, Rome. 








































































THE SIEGE OF TROY xxxiii 

sailed away forever from the shores of Troy. For a 
long time they wandered to and fro along the shores 
of the Mediterranean, encountering many dangers. 
Anchises died and was buried with high honors. 
/Tineas himself descended to the underworld in order 
to behold the future glories of Rome and to obtain 
guidance in his future wanderings. At one time he 
landed at Carthage, ruled over by Queen Dido. This 
beautiful woman tried to persuade him to stay with her 
and become her husband. But /Eneas, at the instigation 
of the gods, refused to heed her requests. He sailed 
away, and she committed suicide; and ever after, the 
descendants of /Eneas and the people of Carthage were 
eternal enemies. 

In the course of time /Eneas finally came to his des¬ 
tined home, Italy. There he fought a great war, and 
there he married Lavinia, the daughter of Latinus, 
the king of the country, and there in time he and his 
descendants established their rule. From lulus, the 
son of /Eneas, the family of Julius Caesar traced its 
direct descent. 

Brief Quiz 

1. What Greek story was especially popular among the 
Romans? Why? 2. What revenge did Ate take for not 
having been invited to the marriage feast of Peleus and 
Thetis? 3. What was “the judgment of Paris”? 4. Who 
was Paris? 5. Who was Priam? 6. Where was Troy? 
7. What reward did Venus give Paris? 8. What action did 
Menelaus take? 9. Who were some of the Greek leaders? 
10. Who were two famous Trojan heroes? 11. How long did 
th; Trojan War last? 12. How was the city finally taken? 
13. What happened to /Eneas on the night of the sack of 
Troy? 14. With whom did he escape from the city? 
15. Where did he go? 16. What famous queen did he visit 
on the way? 17. What happened to /Eneas in Italy? 
18. Who was Anchises? lulus? Latinus? Lavinia? 


xxxiv ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


Exercises and Projects 

1. Read a good summary, in a volume dealing with Greek 
mythology, of the Iliad of Homer, and make a report in detail 
of the events of the Trojan war. 

2. If you have read the Odyssey of Homer, mention some 
interesting events on the return of Ulysses to his home in 
Ithaca. 

3. Interview a senior student who is studying Virgil’s 
/Erieid in Latin, and bring to class an account of some of the 
things he tells you concerning this famous epic of the ancient 
Romans. 

4. Imagine that you are lulus. Tell a young friend of yours 
in Latium how you and your father and grandfather escaped 
from the burning city of Troy. 

5. Explain the reference to Tkieas and Anchises in the first 
of the passages that follow, to Ate in the second: 

(1) I, as TCneas, our great ancestor, 

Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder 
The old Anchises bear, so from the waves of Tiber 
Did I the tired Caesar. — Julius Caesar, I, ii. 

(2) And Caesar’s spirit, ranging for revenge. 

With Ate by his side. — Julius Caesar, III, ii. 


CHAPTER VI 


HOW ROME WAS FOUNDED AND HOW ITS KINGS 
WERE DRIVEN OUT 

O Rome! my country! city of the soul! — Byron 
After /Eneas had conquered his enemies and married 
Lavinia, he built a city in Latium and called it Lavinium 
in honor of his wife. When /Eneas died, he was suc¬ 
ceeded as ruler by his son, and for many generations the 
descendants of /Eneas and Lavinia ruled over Lavinium. 

In the course of time the kingdom of Lavinium fell 
to Numitor, who proved himself a wise monarch. To 
him were born a son and daughter; and to the former, 
when the king died, the throne of Lavinium would have 
descended. But Numitor had a brother named Amu- 
lius, who drove his brother from the throne and out of 
Lavinium, killed his nephew, and forced his niece, 
whose name was Rhea Sylvia, to enter the service of 
the goddess Vesta. It was the rule that the priestesses 
of Vesta must remain unmarried, and for this reason 
Amulius thought himself safe. But Mars saw Rhea 
Sylvia and fell in love with her. He wooed her secretly 
and managed to persuade her to wed him. She bore to 
Mars twin sons of remarkable size and beauty. When 
the news came to Amulius that his niece was the mother 
of two sons, he was greatly angered. He called Rhea 
Sylvia before him and tried to make her tell him who 
her husband was, but she refused to divulge her secret. 
He had the priestess bound and imprisoned; the chil¬ 
dren he ordered to be thrown into the Tiber River. 

To the servant, however, to whom the mission of 
drowning the children was entrusted, the act seemed 


XXXV 


xxxvi ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


to be too cruel. He placed the infants in a cradle, and 
laying the cradle on the bank of the river, he went away. 

The river rose, and gently raising the cradle from the 
shore, carried it down the stream. For several miles it 
floated along, but at length the Tiber deposited the 
cradle on the shore. While the infants were lying, 
still asleep, on the river bank, a she-wolf caught sight 
of them. The poor beast had just seen her own cubs 
killed by a hunter; and so, instead of devouring the 
children, the she-wolf took them for her own and nur¬ 
tured them carefully. The Romans in later days also 
related that the woodpecker came and helped feed the 
infants; and ever afterwards both the wolf and the 
woodpecker were regarded as sacred to the god Mars. 

After a number of days a shepherd found the 
children, but kept them concealed from every one. The 
two boys grew up among the shepherds, but they showed 
themselves in person and in mind so like the gods that 
they became the leaders of their companions. 

To them were given the names of Romulus and 
Remus. Ry chance one day Romulus and Remus were 
brought before their grandfather Numitor, who was 
living as an exile in the country. Their strong resem¬ 
blance to the royal family aroused his curiosity. He ques¬ 
tioned them and soon discovered the truth. When the 
lads learned that they were princes and entitled to the 
throne, they gathered a number of comrades, attacked 
the city where Amulius dwelt, and killed the tyrant. 
Then they placed their grandfather again on the throne. 
They also released their mother from prison and made 
due provision for her. 

Rut they were not willing to remain in Lavinium until 
their grandfather died and so inherit his throne. They 
wandered off to a district in the northern part of Lavin- 


HOW ROME WAS FOUNDED xxxvii 


ium, on the banks of the Tiber River that had saved 
their lives. Here seven hills came together, distinguish¬ 
ing the district from all the places around it. 

With the help of a number of comrades a new city 
began to arise under the leadership of Romulus and 
Remus. Rut the walls were hardly in place when the 
brothers began quarreling over the question of naming 
the city. Each wanted the city to be named after him, 
and in a little while the quarrel became so violent that 
it came to blows; and then, in a fit of anger, Romulus 
killed Remus. So the city was called Rome. 

Rome was originally built on that one of the seven 
hills which was called the Palatine. Romulus an¬ 
nounced that it was a sacred refuge for people in distress, 
and he received into it all sorts of persons. He refused 
to give back a runaway slave to his master, a debtor 
to his creditor, or a murderer to his judge, but he de¬ 
clared that the city was a free sanctuary for all. As a 
consequence, the city soon became full of men, many of 
them, however, of desperate character. 

As a king, Romulus proved himself brave and skillful 
in war and wise in government, according to the legends 
handed down among the Romans. Ancient traditions 
stated that he first separated the entire population 
into two groups. Those who were to be commended 
for their virtue and were well-to-do he separated from 
the rest. These were called patres, fathers, or pa¬ 
tricians. The ignoble and base and needy he called 
plebeians. He commanded each plebeian to choose as 
a patron the patrician whom he wished to serve. The 
patrons were to explain the laws to their clients, to 
watch over their business affairs, and to protect them 
generally. The clients were to follow their patrons in 
war and peace. To rule over the city Romulus selected 


xxxviii ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


one hundred men from the patricians i and called this 
council his Senate. He also created an assembly of com¬ 
moners to which he granted three powers: the election 
of magistrates, the ratification of laws, and the decision 
of questions of war and peace. 

In time the Roman state under Romulus became so 
powerful that in war it was a match for any of the sur¬ 
rounding nations. Rut it suffered from one disad¬ 
vantage — a scarcity of women. Romulus sought to 
obtain wives for his followers from among the 
surrounding states, but his ambassadors were refused 
everywhere. Seeing that he could not obtain his wish 
by fair means, Romulus resolved to use force. Hiding 
his resentment, he arranged games in honor of Neptune 
and gave orders that the show should be advertised 
widely among the neighbors of Rome. The Romans 
prepared for the celebration with a magnificence to make 
the event famous. Great numbers of the neighbors 
of the Romans assembled from a desire to witness the 
games and to see the new city. Particularly the Sabines 
came with their wives and children. The time of the 
show arrived; and while the minds and the thoughts of 
the visitors were intent upon it, the Roman youths on a 
given signal carried off all the Sabine maidens. 

The new wives of the Romans were well treated; 
and when the Sabines came to make war on the Romans, 
the Sabine women who had been taken by force into 
the Roman city intervened, and they persuaded the 
Romans and Sabines to dwell together in Rome. 

In the thirty-eighth year of his reign Romulus died, 
and he was succeeded by a number of kings, some of 
whom were men of fine character and others of whom 
were worthless rulers. Last of them all was Lucius 
Tarquinius Superbus. The third part of Tarquinius’s 


HOW ROME WAS FOUNDED xxxix 

name means “the Proud.” He was a man of ability 
in war but of harsh tyranny in peace. He refused to 
consult with the Senate and even put to death some of 
the principal senators. At last, because of Tarquinius’s 
insult to Lucretia, wife of a Roman noble, she committed 
suicide, and it was determined to dethrone the proud 
king. 

The leader in the conspiracy to get rid of this harsh 
monarch was Lucius Junius Brutus, a man of great 
genius and worth. He was of royal ancestry, but lived 
privately and quietly. When he heard of the tragic 
fate of Lucretia, he assembled his fellow citizens and 
lifting up his hand to the skies, cried: 

“I swear, and you, 0 gods, I call to witness, that I 
will drive hence Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, together 
with his wicked wife and his whole family, with fire 
and sword and every means in my power, and I will 
not suffer them or any one else to reign in Rome.” 

So many others had suffered injustice from the 
Tarquins, and every one was so enraged because of their 
numerous crimes, that in a short while Brutus was able 
to gather an army which drove out the Tarquins and 
closed the gates of the city against them. Perpetual 
exile was pronounced against them and all their race, 
and the name of king was ever after hateful to the ear 
of Romans. 


Brief Quiz 

1. What city did .Eneas found? 2. Why was Numitor 
exiled? 3. How did his brother seek to make his rulership 
safe? 4. What action did he take against his niece’s children? 
5. How were they saved? 6. What revenge did they take 
when they grew up? 7. Where did they found a city? 
8. How was the city named? 9. How did Romulus attract 
a population to the city? 10. How did he govern the 


xl ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


city? 11. Who were the patricians? The plebeians? Pa¬ 
trons? The Senate? 12. What difficulty did Romulus face? 
13. How did he overcome it? 14. Who was the last king to 
succeed Romulus? 15. What was his character? 16. Who 
drove him out? 17. What was the Roman attitude toward 
kings? 

Exercises and Projects 

1. Read the first of Kipling’s Jungle Books, and compare 
Romulus and Remus with Mowgli in that volume. 

2. What Bible story does the story of Romulus and Remus 
recall? Tell it briefly. 

3. Imagine yourself a Sabine matron who has attended 
the games in honor of Neptune and whose niece is carried off 
by a Roman youth. Tell what happened, in the form of a 
conversation with a neighbor who stayed at home. 

4. Explain the italicized word in the following line: 

The troubled Tiber chafing with her shores. 

— Julius Caesar, I, ii. 

5. Brutus, in Act I, Scene ii, says: “I do fear the people 
choose Caesar for their king.” He is a descendant of the 
Brutus mentioned in this chapter. Why would he be es¬ 
pecially averse to kings? Give a full explanation. 


CHAPTER VII 

HOW ROME CONQUERED THE WORLD 

For Romans in Romes quarrels 
Spared neither land nor gold, 

Nor son nor wife, nor limb nor life, 

In the brave days of old. 

Then none was for a party, 

Then all were for the state; 

Then the great man helped the poor, 

And the poor man loved the great: 

Then lands were fairly portioned; 

Then spoils were fairly sold; 

The Romans were like brothers 

In the brave days of old. — Macaulay 

When the Romans had expelled the Tarquin and so 
ended the rule of the kings, it became necessary for them 
to establish a new form of government. So Rome be¬ 
came a republic, ruled over by two consuls, who were 
elected every year. The first consuls were Marcus 
Junius Rrutus and Marcus Horatius. Each consul 
could veto the acts of the other; and by means of this 
strange device, the Romans hoped to escape tyranny. 
In addition, the city was ruled by the Senate, in which 
the elders of the land sat, and by popular assemblies 
in which all the people voted. It was realized that in a 
period of emergency it was necessary to entrust all power 
to one man; and provision was therefore made for the 
appointment, in times of great danger, of a dictator, who 
had supreme power for six months. Rut at the end of 
his rulership charges might be brought against such a 
dictator, and he could be punished for any misdeeds. 

The history of Rome after the expulsion of the kings 
follows two clearly defined channels: (1) There is a 
xli 


xlii ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 

long struggle for supremacy between the patricians and 
plebeians. (2) Rome conquers the known world in 
successive movements: first, Italy; then the Mediter¬ 
ranean countries; then large sections of Europe, Asia, 
and Africa fall under her sway. 

The Tarquin was not content to suffer his exile 
quietly. He conspired to overthrow the republic, and 
he enlisted in his cause some of the cities that sur¬ 
rounded Rome. In a great battle Marcus Junius Rrutus 
and his fellow consul led the Roman army against the 
Tarquin. As the latter drew near, he recognized Rrutus, 
and in rage he exclaimed: 

“That is the man who drove us from our country. 
See him proudly advancing, adorned with his signs of 
rulership! Ye gods, avengers of kings, aid me!” 

So speaking, he drove his spurs into his horse and 
rode straight at the consul. In the fight that followed 
Rrutus was killed; but, nevertheless, the Roman host 
was victorious. The Tarquin, aided by his allies, made 
other attempts to reestablish his rule at Rome, but al¬ 
ways unsuccessfully; and when he died, all hope of a 
Roman kingship ended forever. 

Gradually the Romans won control of Latium, and 
gradually their rulership spread over the rest of Italy. 
Once, however, the Gauls, who lived in what to-day is 
France, invaded Italy and captured Rome. For ten 
months they remained in possession of the city, but were 
finally driven out. In one war with a tribe living on 
the slopes of the Apennines a dictator named Cincin- 
natus was chosen by the Senate. When the messengers 
reached him with news of his appointment, they found 
him plowing a field. When he heard that his country 
needed him, he left his plow in the field, hastened to 
Rome, and assumed command of the army. In a short 


HOW ROME CONQUERED THE WORLD xliii 


time he had conquered the enemy; and refusing all hon¬ 
ors or rewards, he laid down his office and returned to 
his plow. 

In the southern part of Italy were numerous Greek 
settlements, for the Greeks in early times had emigrated 
to Italy just as in our time the English and other races 
settled America. Rome had a dispute with one of these 
colonies, and the Greeks called in the aid of Pyrrhus, 
king of Epirus, a section of Greece itself. Pyrrhus, 
called by his subjects “the Eagle,” was a brilliant young 
soldier who dreamed of conquering the world as Alex¬ 
ander the Great had done. He responded promptly 
to the call of the Greeks in Italy and landed with a great 
army. He brought with him to Italy twenty elephants, 
and the Romans were dismayed when for the first time 
they saw these huge animals. Pyrrhus advanced to 
within forty miles of Rome. Rut the Romans refused 
to make peace with him until he had withdrawn from 
Italy. Pyrrhus continued to win victories, but so great 
were his losses in battle that when some one congratu¬ 
lated him on having won, he replied: “Another such 
victory, and I am utterly ruined!” 

From his reply comes the expression, “a Pyrrhic 
victory”; that is, a victory won at a price which almost 
ruins the conqueror. Ultimately the Romans overcame 
Pyrrhus and became the rulers of all Italy. 

Meanwhile, in Rome itself, a struggle between the 
upper and the lower classes had been going on. The 
plebeians had three main grievances. In the first place, 
all offices were in the hands of the patricians. They 
composed the Senate, they only were eligible to be 
elected as consuls or as questors (treasurers), praetors 
(judges), or aediles (superintendents of buildings and 
games). 


xliv ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


In the second place, no laws were written down. 
When a question arose, it was left to the memory and in¬ 
terpretation of the patricians in whose keeping was the 
knowledge of the law, and the plebeians had no appeal. 

In the third place, the economic condition of the 
lower classes was very poor. When a foreign tribe was 
conquered, part of their land was often distributed 
among the Romans, but only the patricians were thus 
favored. Moreover, when citizens served in the army 
they had to neglect their farms or their business, and 
often, as a consequence, they fell in debt. The laws 
concerning debtors were very harsh; creditors had the 
right to throw them into prison, or even to sell them as 
slaves, if they could not pay. 

Gradually these wrongs were righted, and in the right¬ 
ing the Romans showed their great genius for govern¬ 
ment. First the office of tribune was created. At the 
beginning there were two tribunes, later there were five, 
and still later ten. The tribunes represented the plebe¬ 
ians; and when they objected to an act of the Senate, 
they had the right to cry out, “ Veto! ” (I forbid). In the 
course of time the tribunes became more and more 
powerful. After many struggles the plebeians won the 
right, too, of election to all offices; and the provision 
was even made that, of the two consuls, one must be a 
plebeian. 

The tribunes urged the Senate to have the laws 
written down, and at last a body of ten men, called the 
decemvirate, was appointed to draw up the laws of the 
state. These were known as the “Laws of the Twelve 
Tables,” and they were placed in the Forum, so that all 
might read them and know their rights. Schoolboys 
were required to learn the Laws of the Twelve Tables 
by heart. 


HOW ROME CONQUERED THE WORLD xlv 

The economic troubles, however, were never really 
settled, and they led ultimately to the downfall of the 
republic. The number of persons in Rome who had no 
means of livelihood increased constantly, and despite all 
laws and all attempts to settle citizens on conquered 
lands, there remained in the city a large mass of dis¬ 
satisfied commoners. They responded eagerly to false 
leaders who promised them riches, or who corrupted 
them with bribes; and because of them Rome ultimately 
was split by ruinous civil wars. 

As Rome conquered the other cities and tribes of 
Italy, it sought to make the conquered peoples true 
friends of the conquerors. To many of them the full 
rights of citizens were granted; to others what was 
called the “Latin right” was given. The latter class 
could trade and intermarry with the Romans, but they 
had no political rights in Rome. Gradually Italy be¬ 
came unified and was wrought into a weapon whereby 
Rome was enabled to conquer the world. 

The greatest foreign enemy whom Rome was obliged 
to vanquish was Carthage. This city on the northern 
coast of Africa was a colony settled by the Phoenicians. 
The Phoenicians came originally from seaports in Asia 
Minor. They were the first to explore unknown seas 
and lands, and they even penetrated to the isles of 
Britain in the Atlantic. According to the legend that 
has already been told, Dido ruled Carthage at the time 
when ;Eneas visited the city on his way from Troy to 
Rome; and the Trojan hero’s refusal to marry the 
Phoenician queen was said to be the first cause of the 
perpetual enmity between Rome and Carthage. 

But in later years Carthage grew to be the most 
powerful city on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, 
and it controlled the trade of the greater part of the 


xlvi ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 

known world. It was inevitable that, as Rome grew in 
power, it must at length confront Carthage. The first 
conflict between the two states came in Sicily, which 
Carthage sought to conquer. The Romans saw clearly 
that, if Sicily fell under the rule of Carthage, it would 
not be long before the Africans would seek to con¬ 
quer Italy. A series of three wars, known as the “ Punic 
Wars,” followed. Many great battles were fought; 
and the Carthaginians produced one great leader, Han¬ 
nibal, who invaded Italy and would have triumphed 
over Rome had the Carthaginians supported him with 
as much patriotism as the Romans supported their 
leaders. Ultimately Rome won, because of its dogged¬ 
ness and pluck, and Carthage itself was completely 
destroyed. In the same year in which Carthage was 
wiped out, Corinth in Greece was plundered by the Ro¬ 
mans and burnt to the ground; and within a few years 
after that event all of Greece and all of Asia Minor 
were conquered and became Roman provinces. Rome 
was mistress of the Mediterranean world. 

In its control of its provinces Rome once more showed 
its genius for government. Each province was given as 
much self-rule as possible, and local customs and 
religions were not interfered with unless they proved 
dangerous to the welfare of the Roman rule. Each 
province was ruled by a Roman magistrate, called 
the proconsul (pro in Latin means “in place of”). 
The early proconsuls were men of integrity and dig¬ 
nity; but as Rome itself became corrupt, these^gov- 
ernors too fell from grace, and they usually regarded 
their appointment to rule a province as an opportu¬ 
nity to plunder the provincials in every way and to 
return laden with the wealth they had extorted. This 
wealth was used in turn to bribe and corrupt the 


HOW ROME CONQUERED THE WORLD xlvii 


Roman populace and so still further to hasten the de¬ 
cay of the republic. 


Brief Quiz 

1. What officers took the place of the king in Rome? 

2. When was a dictator appointed? 3. Into what two chan¬ 
nels does the history of Rome fall after the expulsion of the 
kings? 4. What efforts did the Tarquin make to regain his 
power? Was he successful? 5. What happened to Marcus 
Junius Brutus? 6. Of what part of Italy did the Romans 
first gain control? 7. What invaders captured Rome? 
8. Who was Cincinnatus? 9. What king helped the Greeks 
in southern Italy? 10. What was the outcome of the war 
with him? 11. What internal struggle took place in Rome? 
12. What were the grievances of the plebeians? 13. Who 
were the tribunes? 14. How were some of the wrongs of the 
lower classes righted? 15. Which group of grievances con¬ 
tinued to cause trouble? 16. How did the Romans treat the 
Italian peoples they conquered? 17. What were the Punic 
Wars? 18. Who was Hannibal? 19. How did Rome treat 
its provinces? 


Exercises and Projects 

1. Read in Plutarch’s Lives the account of Marcus Junius 
Brutus, and bring to class the story of how he treated his sons 
when they came up before him to be tried for treason. 

2. Macaulay’s Lays of Ancient Rome are interesting bal¬ 
lads, telling stories of the period treated in this chapter. Read 
one of them, and be able to retell in your own words the story 
told in it. 

3. Find out all you can concerning the Battle of Heraclea, 
in which Pyrrhus first used elephants against the Romans. 
Imagine yourself a Roman soldier engaged in this battle. 
Write a letter to your father and tell him what occurred. 

4. See if you can answer this question: How did the 
Romans come to rule the world? Obtain your answer to the 
question from as many sources as possible — history books, 
the encyclopedia, interviews with your Latin or history 
teacher, and the material provided in this chapter. 


xlviii ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


5. Explain the references in the following lines: 

(1) There was a Brutus once that would have brook’d 
The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome 

As easily as a king. — Julius Caesar, I, ii. 

(2) My ancestors did from the streets of Rome 
The Tarquin drive, when he was call’d a king 

— Marcus Brutus, in Julius Caesar, II, i. 

6. Explain the meaning of the following words: dictator, 
Pyrrhic victory, veto, proconsul. 


CHAPTER VIII 

THE DECAY OF THE REPUBLIC 

The citadel 

Of great and glorious Rome, queen of the earth, 

So far renowned and with the spoils enriched 
Of nations. — Milton 

Rome’s far-flung conquests made her the center of the 
civilized world. From every part of the earth wealth 
poured into the city on the Tiber, and on its streets 
walked men and women of every nation, some as visi¬ 
tors, some as hostages, some as slaves. Luxuries of all 
kinds were imported, in spite of all that Roman citizens 
of the sterner type could do or say. It is said that sol¬ 
diers returning from Greece first brought to Rome gilded 
couches, rich tapestries with hangings, and other works 
of the loom. More attention began to be paid to food 
and to its preparation. Dainties and delicacies were 
sent to Rome for the delight of its citizens, and the cook, 
who once had been accounted the meanest of slaves, now 
became highly valuable. Slaves, in general, became so 
plentiful that on their shoulders was cast the burden of 
all physical labor; and the populace of Rome lived in 
idleness, seeking constantly new amusement in shows 
and political uproar. 

During this period, however, culture developed 
rapidly. In particular, the influence of Greece became 
greater and greater, and all Romans of education talked 
Greek fluently, studied Greek writers as models, 
adopted the thought and principles of Greek philoso¬ 
phers, practiced oratory in Greek schools, traveled to 
Greece to visit temples there and to view its noble 

xlix 


1 ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


monuments of art, and in all directions absorbed the 
Hellenic spirit. 

The dangers which Rome faced were apparent to 
patriotic Romans, and this period opens with the 
efforts of two great-minded leaders to overcome these 
dangers. 

It is related that at this time all the ladies of Rome 
bedecked themselves with splendid jewels and rich 
dresses — except one woman, Cornelia. She was the 
daughter of Scipio, who had conquered Hannibal, and 
the wife of a noted Roman general, Tiberius Gracchus. 
Some one once asked her, “Where are your jewels, 
Cornelia? ” Proudly she pointed to her sons and said, 
“These are my jewels.” 

Tiberius Gracchus died early, leaving the care of his 
children to his wife. Ptolemy, king of Egypt, wooed 
her and asked her to share his crown, but she refused; 
and she brought up her children in noble simplicity, 
instilling in them the love of Rome. 

Her two sons, Tiberius Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus, 
became indeed the most accomplished of Roman youths. 
Tiberius was mild and sedate; when he addressed the 
people, he would stand composedly in one spot, and 
the greatness of his character stirred the reverence of 
his hearers. Gaius, on the contrary, moved about the 
rostra and pulled his toga from his shoulder while 
speaking; his manner was vehement and persuasive. 

Both brothers realized that, if Rome was to survive 
as a republic, the number of small farmers must be in¬ 
creased, and the huge estates of the rich must be broken 
up. They succeeded in bringing about the enactment 
of some laws to restore land to the poor, but the in¬ 
numerable wars of the period, the dissensions among the 
representatives of the commoners, and the violence 


THE DECAY OF THE REPUBLIC 


li 


which was becoming more and more prevalent caused 
all their efforts to end in failure. First Tiberius Grac¬ 
chus was assassinated; then Gaius Gracchus, sur¬ 
rounded by enemies, commanded his slave to kill him, 
the slave later committing suicide. 

Not long after the death of Gaius Gracchus, Marius 
appeared as a leader of the people against the corrupt 
nobility. Marius drew from the fate of the Gracchi the 
lesson that, unless a leader had a trained army to sup¬ 
port him, his efforts would be useless; and with Marius, 
therefore, begins the line of military men who, one after 
another, made themselves masters of Rome and of its 
unruly mob of citizens. 

Marius was a man of industry, integrity, and skill 
in war. He shared both the dangers and the food of his 
men, and won their complete devotion. He increased 
his army in every possible way, secured some important 
victories in Africa, and sought to establish his rule over 
Rome. But, in the course of time, there arose against 
him Sulla, representing the Roman Senate and aristoc¬ 
racy; and the civil war that ensued devastated Italy. 
Rome itself was invaded by a Roman army, and first 
one side, then the other murdered all those who had 
opposed them. Despite all the dangers through which 
he passed, however, Marius died, not by the sword, 
when he was seventy. Sulla, after making great con¬ 
quests in the Orient, came back to Rome, had himself 
proclaimed dictator, reduced the power of the tribunes, 
added to the number of senators, distributed land among 
his soldiers, and then voluntarily abdicated. He died 
the year after his retirement and received a funeral 
marked by royal splendor. 

The man who now came to the front was an officer in 
Sulla’s army — Gnams Pompey. From the very begin- 


lii ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


ning Pompey received from the Roman people remark¬ 
able tokens of their affection for him. The causes of 
their affection were many: his temperate mind, his skill 
in arms, the persuasiveness of his speech, the honesty 
of his character, and his amiability to every man who 
came in his way. It was said of him that there was no 
person from whom one could ask a favor with so little 
pain, and whose requests one would more willingly 
strive to satisfy. His expression was at once kindly and 
dignified, and his bearing was noble. 

Sulla was impressed by Pompey’s greatness from the 
first time that he met him. He would rise from his seat 
and uncover his head as Pompey approached — an 
honor he showed to very few others, though there were 
many distinguished men about him. Yet Pompey was 
not made vain by this honor, nor yet by the victories 
he won in war. 

In Spain, in Italy, and in Asia, Pompey proved his 
great generalship. He made war against the pirates 
that infested the Mediterranean, and conquered them. 

His return from the East in 61 b.c., marked a crisis 
in the fortunes of Rome. Shortly before this a conspir¬ 
acy to overthrow the government of Rome had been 
hatched by a madman of great celebrity and high 
birth — Lucius Catiline, who hoped to make himself 
and his scoundrelly fellow noblemen the rulers of Rome. 
Rut the conspiracy had been betrayed to one of the 
consuls, Marcus Tullius Cicero, one of the greatest men 
whom Rome ever produced. Cicero was the most 
celebrated of Roman orators, and his speeches are to 
this day studied as models of speech making. He was, 
too, an important writer of essays and studies in phi¬ 
losophy, he was an able statesman, and he loved Rome 
with all his heart. When proof of the conspiracy was 


THE DECAY OF THE REPUBLIC liii 


laid before him, he delivered a series of terrible denun¬ 
ciations of Catiline and the other conspirators. Catiline 
fled from the city, and was soon afterward killed in 
battle. Meanwhile Cicero had arrested and put to 
death some chiefs of the conspiracy who remained in 
the city. Cicero was hailed as the savior of his country. 

Now Pompey returned, and with his return Julius 
Caesar enters the story. 


Summary of the Government of Rome 
at This Period 

A. The powers of government were divided among (1) the 
popular assemblies, which elected officials; (2) these 
officials after their election; (3) the Senate, which con¬ 
sisted of nobles and of former officials. 

B. Throughout the history of the republic there was a struggle 
for power between (1) the patricians, or nobility; and 

(2) the plebeians, or commoners. The plebeians suc¬ 
ceeded gradually in winning the right of eligibility to all 
offices. 

C. There 'were, in the period of the republic, two important 
assemblies: (1) the comitia of the centuries — composed 
of the wealthier citizens and of the nobles; (2) the 
comitia of the tribes — composed of all citizens, both in 
Rome itself and in the country districts. 

D. The chief Roman officials were: 

(1) the two consuls, chosen annually by the centuries. 
Each could veto the acts of the other. Together they 
ruled the state and made war. Before them walked 
two lictors, carrying the fasces, or rods with axes, 
that marked their authority. 

(2) the praetors or judges, chosen annually by the cen¬ 
turies. 

(3) the tribunes, who represented the interests of the 
plebeians and had power to veto the Senate. They 
were elected annually by the tribes. 

(4) the censors, who made up the census of the Senate and 
had the power to degrade nobles from their rank; 


liv ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


they had, therefore, general supervision over morals. 
They were elected for five years by the tribes. 

(5) the sediles, who formed a police and public works 
board, and who were elected by the tribes. 

(6) the dictator, chosen by the consuls with the consent 
of Senate, for six months only, during time of great 
danger. During his term he had absolute power. 
Later, “perpetual dictators,” like Caesar, were elected; 
and with them the republican form of government 
ended. 


Brief Quiz 

1. What was the effect on Rome of its great foreign con¬ 
quests? 2. Were the consequences entirely unfavorable? 
3. Who was the mother of the Gracchi? What anecdote is 
told concerning her? 4. What was the difference between 
the brothers? 5. What reform did they try to bring about? 
What was the result? 6. What leader succeeded them? 
7. What lesson did he draw from the fate of the Grac¬ 
chi? 8. Who became his opponent? What reforms did he 
institute? 9. Who was Pompey? Describe his character. 
10. What was the conspiracy of Catiline? Who prevented 
the success of the conspiracy? 

Exercises and Projects 

1. Bring to class a report on William Stearns Davis’s 
A Friend of Csesar, or on some other novel laid in this period 
(see page 146). Mention in particular some of the interesting 
customs that are described. 

2. Give a talk on one of the following men, basing it on 
information derived from this chapter and from some good 
work of reference you have consulted: (1) Tiberius Gracchus, 
(2) Gaius Gracchus, (3) Marius, (4) Sulla, (5) Pompey, 
(6) Cicero. 

3. Ask some student who is now studying Cicero to tell 
you what is an especially striking passage in the orations 
against Catiline. Read this passage in an English rendering. 

4. Can you think of any happenings in the history of the 
United States that remind you of the history of Rome during 


THE DECAY OF THE REPUBLIC lv 


this period? Have any of our leaders resembled the Roman 
leaders described in this chapter? 

5. Explain the italicized words in these passages taken from 
Julius Caesar: 

(1) Knew you not Pompey? Many a time and oft 
Have you climb’d up to walls and battlements, 

To towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops, 

Your infants in your arms, and there have sat 
The livelong day with patient expectation, 

To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome. — I, i. 

(2) But what of Cicero? shall we sound him? 

I think he will stand very strong with us. — II, i. 


CHAPTER IX 

THE CAREER OF JULIUS C^SAR 

Caesar shook the world. — A. G. Gardiner. 

Now came Csesar, by many historians reckoned the 
greatest man who ever lived. 

Gaius Julius Csesar belonged to one of the most 
notable families of Rome. As his middle name indi¬ 
cates, his clan traced its descent from the son of HSneas 
himself, and hence they regarded Anchises and Venus 
as their original progenitors. He was a nephew of 
Marius; and when the time arrived for him to decide 
his political connections, he unhesitatingly took the side 
of the democratic group, as against the aristocrats or 
followers of Sulla. 

The year of Csesar’s birth is not certain. Some place 
it at 100, others at 102 b.c. He was brought up in a 
simple, old-fashioned Roman home, and his mother 
was of the same type as the mother of the Gracchi — 
a noble, capable woman, who watched her son’s rise to 
power with pride and with apprehension. He was edu¬ 
cated both in Rome and in Greece; on his way to Greece 
he had an interesting adventure with pirates that was 
an indication of his character and determination. They 
captured him and ordered him to secure a certain ran¬ 
som. He scornfully told them that they were not asking 
enough and insisted that they increase the amount. At 
the same time he told them that, when he was released, 
he would come back and execute them. They laughed 
at him, but he carried out his threat in full. 

lvi 


THE CAREER OF JULIUS CAESAR lvii 

When Sulla came to power, he demanded that 
Caesar divorce his wife, who was the daughter of one of 
the adherents of Marius. Caesar refused and was exiled. 
For some reason Sulla did not have him killed, although 
many warned him that Caesar was, even as a youth, 
dangerous. 

On the death of Sulla, Caesar returned to Rome; 
and in accordance with the political customs of Rome, 
he held a number of offices in succession. As was also 
the Roman custom, not only did these offices pay no 
salary, but the incumbents were obliged to provide 
the populace with games and food. Caesar was so mag¬ 
nificent and generous that he fell heavily into debt. 
His popularity increased constantly, and under his 
control the followers of Marius came back into power. 

In 61 b.c., Caesar was sent as praetor (a ruler who was 
both governor and judge) to Spain. He returned the 
following year, with enough tribute from the Spanish 
provincials to pay off much of the money he owed. For 
several years Caesar and Pompey had worked in har¬ 
mony, and to themselves they now joined a third man, 
Crassus, the wealthiest man of his time. The trio 
formed what is known as the First Triumvirate. Caesar 
was made consul, and full ratification was given by the 
Senate, under pressure from Caesar, to all that Pompey 
had done in the east. As consul Caesar ruled most 
arbitrarily and paid no heed to his colleague, Ribulus. 
The Romans frequently referred to events as having 
occurred “in the consulship of such and such men.” 
A jester, in the time of Caesar’s consulship, suggested 
that that year (59 b.c.) should not be referred to as 
“the consulship of Caesar and Ribulus,” but rather as 
“the consulship of Julius and Caesar.” 

Throughout this period one sees Caesar not merely 


lviii ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


as a wonderfully successful politician but also in other 
roles. He was a very effective orator, second to none 
but Cicero. He was a clever writer, he had a deep in¬ 
terest in scientific subjects. He was of affable and pleas¬ 
ing personality, impressing all who met him with his 
ability; and he was a favorite with the other sex. 

Now Caesar appeared in a new role — that of a great 
general, one of the most notable of all time. When 
his consulship closed, he was appointed proconsul or 
governor of Gaul, the region now called France. A 
number of Romans had already settled in this pleasant 
and fertile land. It was not completely under Roman 
domination, however; and it was subject, moreover, 
to dangerous incursions from the barbarous tribes that 
dwelt to the north and east, in particular from the tribes 
called Belgians and Germans. 

To Caesar the appointment offered wonderful oppor¬ 
tunities. He could, in the first place, by conquering 
Gaul and reducing the surrounding tribes to submis¬ 
sion, win for himself a fame as great as Pompey’s. He 
could, in the second place, ^secure the devotion of an 
army, and he realized, as did all other ambitious Romans 
of that time, that without an army leadership was hope¬ 
less. The Roman mob submitted only to force. In 
the third place, Gaul would offer new and prosperous 
homes to Ralian settlers; and their colonies would fur¬ 
nish a perpetual bulwark against invasion of Italy by 
hostile barbarian tribes. 

So Caesar set out for Gaul, and there he spent nine 
years. His achievements he himself in part describes 
in his book on the Gallic wars. He proved himself a 
fearless soldier, ready to meet all the dangers his own 
soldiers met; and he was at the same time an ingenious 
and bold general, who outwitted and outfought the 


THE CAREER OF JULIUS CAESAR lix 

enemy again and again, often against desperate odds. 
He conquered a vast extent of difficult country; he 
defeated a large number of tribes, but treated many of 
them with clemency; he took by storm more than 
eight hundred cities, and fought at different times 
against three millions of men, of whom he destroyed one 
million in battle, and took as many prisoners. He made 
the Rhine River a secure boundary of the Roman 
Empire and stretched his conquests so far that even the 
dimly known island of Rritain was, in part, added to 
the dominions of Rome. 

When Caesar had conquered, he ruled. He built 
good roads, bridges, and viaducts, some of which still 
exist to the present day. Roman money and Roman 
weights and measures were introduced into Gaul, and 
Roman civilization gradually became the civilization of 
the inhabitants of that country, whose very language 
to-day is derived from Latin. Rut Caesar, in accord¬ 
ance with the good Roman custom, made no attempt to 
alter Gallic customs or to force the people to give up 
their ancient religion, which he found in many ways to 
resemble that of Greece and Rome. In time Gaul 
became one of the most prosperous and most Roman of 
the Roman provinces. 

So great, says Plutarch, “were the good will and devo¬ 
tion of Caesar’s soldiers to him that those who, under 
other generals, were in no way superior to ordinary 
soldiers were, under Caesar, irresistible and ready to 
meet any danger for their commander’s glory.” 

As the end of Caesar’s rule approached, it became evi¬ 
dent that there was approaching, too, a struggle for the 
rule of the world between him and Pompey. For some 
time peace had been maintained between the two men 
by the influence of Crassus and by the good will of 


lx ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


Julia, who was Csesar’s daughter and Pompey’s wife. 
But now Crassus died among the Parthians whom he 
was seeking to conquer, and now, too, Julia died. 

Thereafter neither could think of the other without 
jealousy and dread. Pompey in Rome commanded the 
Senate to deprive Csesar of his governorship. To 
Csesar went this message of the Senate that he must 
disband his army or be declared an enemy of Rome. 
Csesar realized that the crucial moment in his career 
had come. Slowly he approached with his army the 
River Rubicon, the legal boundary of his province. If 
he crossed that stream with his soldiers, he had cast 
the die. What was he to do? He felt that there was 
only one decision he could take. 

Caesar crossed the Rubicon, and the issue with 
Pompey was joined. 

The civil war that began at that moment lasted for 
several years, and it was decided when Csesar defeated 
Pompey at the battle of Pharsalia, he himself leading his 
famous Tenth Legion into battle. Thiswas in 48 b.c., and 
after the death of Pompey in Egypt, to which country 
he had fled, and the defeat of his adherents in Africa 
and Spain, Csesar was the supreme master of the world. 

During this trying time Csesar showed his modera¬ 
tion and sportsmanship in many ways. Once he was 
told that one of his old officers, one who had been with 
him in Gaul and had been trusted in many ways, had 
gone over to Pompey. Csesar sent his money and be¬ 
longings after him. An Egyptian murdered Pompey 
soon after he reached Africa, thinking that by so doing 
he would win the favor of Csesar. When Csesar landed, 
this Egyptian presented him with the head of his dead 
enemy, but Csesar turned away from him in horror; 
and when he was given Pompey’s signet ring, he wept. 


THE CAREER OF JULIUS C/ESAR ki 

After Pharsalia there was found in Pompey’s tent much 
secret correspondence from supposed friends of Caesar, 
men who had been betraying to Pompey all his plans! 
Csesar would not even learn the names of these false 
friends, but burnt all the letters without reading them. 

In general Caesar showed great clemency to the fol¬ 
lowers of Pompey, and he sought to win their friend¬ 
ship. As he gained control • there was none of the 
wholesale wiping out of enemies such as had followed 
Sulla’s dictatorship. One follower of Pompey’s to whom 
Caesar was particularly gracious was Marcus Brutus, 
a descendant of that Brutus who had freed Rome from 
the Tarquins. His mother was an old friend of Caesar, 
and Caesar not only pardoned him, but when he inter¬ 
ceded in behalf of some of his friends, pardoned them 
also. He even bestowed on Brutus several high offices 
and treated him like a favorite son. 

For a while Caesar remained in Egypt, where he came 
in contact with the famous queen, Cleopatra. Having 
made her position secure and having crushed a revolt 
in Asia Minor, he conquered the rest of northern Africa 
and made it a Roman province, then went on into Spain 
and compelled peace there. Thence he returned to 
Rome, and there all power, all offices, were passed into 
his hands. Honors of every sort were bestowed on him, 
sacrifices were made to him if as to a god, statues of 
him were erected in the temples. He was proclaimed 
the “Father of his Country” and chosen dictator for 
life. It was decreed that he should transact business 
on a throne of ivory and gold, and that all magistrates, 
immediately after their inauguration, should take an 
oath not to oppose any of his decrees. The name of 
the month in which he was born was changed to July. 
Such was Caesar when his power was at its highest. 


lxii ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


Brief Quiz 

1. Tell something about the family and the connections of 
Caesar. 2. To what party was he allied? 3. What was the 
character of his early life? 4. Who exiled Caesar? 5. What 
showed Caesar’s popularity with the Roman people? 6. What 
country did he govern for a year? 7. What was the First 
Triumvirate? 8. What office was given to Caesar? 9. What 
was Caesar besides being an able politician? 10. What new 
quality did his governorship of Gaul show? 11. Give some 
facts as to Gaul. 12. What three opportunities did that 
country offer Caesar? 13. How long did he rule Gaul? 
14. What results did he accomplish? 15. What brought 
about a conflict with Pompey? 16. What mandate did the 
Senate send Caesar? 17. What decision did he have to make? 
18. What was the result of the civil war? 19. How did 
Caesar show his moderation? 20. Who was Cleopatra? 
21. What countries did Caesar conquer? 22. What honors 
were bestowed on him at Rome? 

Exercises and Projects 

1. Read what is said on page 102, and give a talk in 
which you include the most interesting facts there given. 

2. Read one of the books on Caesar mentioned in the read¬ 
ing-list on page 148, and bring to class a report on the volume. 

3. You are (let us imagine) a boy whose father was with 
Caesar in Gaul. Write an account of a conversation with your 
father about Caesar. 

4. If you are taking Latin, or if you know some one who is 
reading Caesar’s Gallic War, bring to class an account of a 
battle in that war or of some incident reported by Caesar. 

5. Explain the following passages, spoken by opponents of 
Caesar in Shakespeare’s play: 

(1) And do you now put on your best attire? 

And do you now cull out a holiday? 

And do you now strew flowers in his way 

That comes in triumph over Pompey’s blood? — I, i. 

(2) And this man 

Is now become a god, and Cassius is . 

A wretched creature and must bend his body 

If Caesar carelessly but nod on him. — I, ii. 


CHAPTER X 

THE ASSASSINATION OF CAESAR 

How much happiness Caesar would have conferred on 
the human race had he been given time to carry out his 
far-reaching plans! — Emil Ludwig 

The tremendous power which lay within the hands 
of Caesar he carefully refrained from abusing. He was 
never a tyrant. He was warned repeatedly against 
being too open-hearted. He dismissed his whole body¬ 
guard, including his Spanish slaves. When told that noc¬ 
turnal meetings were being held against him in different 
parts of Rome, and a conspiracy very possibly being set 
on foot, he did no more than publish an edict declaring 
his full knowledge of all that was going on, and make a 
speech to the people in which he warned all would-be 
evildoers to be careful of their ways. Better to die, 
than to live as a tyrant, as he said one day. He was in 
general so kind to those who had opposed him that his 
own followers grumbled. His only ambition was to 
improve Rome internally and to extend its boundaries 
externally, and in the short time that was allowed him 
before his assassination he performed wonders. 

Although Caesar refused the title of king when it was 
offered to him, it was only because he realized how hate¬ 
ful this title still was to the people of Rome. There 
can be no doubt that he planned to found a world-wide 
empire under his own rule; and it is likely that he had 
in mind as a model the magnificent empire that Alex¬ 
ander the Great had so brilliantly established over Greece 
and a great part of Asia. Whatever Caesar did at this 

lxiii 


lxiv ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


time, he seems to have done from the point of view of 
the world at large rather than from that merely of Rome. 

Among the most important of his achievements was 
the founding of colonies in many parts of the Roman 
Empire and the granting of greater freedom to many of 
the conquered provinces. From far-off Pont us on the 
Rlack Sea to the shores of the Atlantic his colonies 
extended. Seville in Spain began life at this time. He 
rebuilt Carthage, and he established on the ruins of 
Corinth homes for freedmen of Rome. The famous 
Tenth Legion was given allotments in France; and all 
told, eighty thousand Romans, chiefly soldiers, were 
placed in well-chosen colonies throughout the empire. 
Meanwhile, he remitted some of the taxes levied on the 
provinces, he saw to it that the rights of provincials 
were respected, and he extended the much-prized Roman 
citizenship to many of them. 

It seems clear from acts like these that Csesar was 
shaping a world-wide state, held in awe by a great army 
and ruled by an absolute monarch. Rut he intended, 
too, that the subjects of this state, of whatever race or 
color or religion, should in time receive fair and equal 
treatment so long as they accepted Roman rule obe¬ 
diently. 

At Rome itself Caesar made new and juster regula¬ 
tions for the payment of debts. He provided for the 
free distribution of food to those that really needed it, 
but tried to do so in a way that would prevent abuses. 
Among the greatest of his reforms was that of the calen¬ 
dar, which he placed on a scientific basis. 

He also planned many other reforms. He wished to 
improve the harbor facilities of Rome. He was going 
to drain the Pontine marshes, south of Rome. He ex¬ 
pected to erect a number of great buildings that would 



Julius Caesar in Armor 


























Augustus Caesar 

Grandnephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar, and first of the em¬ 
perors of Rome. In the play he is called Octavius. 

From the Boston Museum of Art. 


















THE ASSASSINATION OF C^SAR lxv 


still further dignify the capital of the world. He began 
to collect a great library of Greek and Roman books. 
He wished to simplify the Roman law and to bring all 
its regulations together in a single code. He planned 
to build more roads and canals in the provinces and so 
to weld the Roman Empire into a single body, with easy 
communications from one part to another. 

Rut all these plans were frustrated by Caesar’s un¬ 
timely assassination. 

Despite his kindness and generosity and despite the 
value of the reforms which he was establishing, Caesar 
still had many personal and political enemies. Some 
of them were jealous of him and resented the fact that 
a man seemingly no better than they was granted such 
enormous honors and powers. Others were filled with 
anger because this Roman aristocrat did not restore the 
aristocrats to power, but continued to rely on the com¬ 
mon people. A few — a very few — were deeply 
grieved at the idea that the old Roman Republic was 
falling to pieces, and they unwisely held Caesar respon¬ 
sible for the destruction of the old forms, not realizing 
that the republic was doomed anyway and that it was 
better to have Caesar establish a new and firm govern¬ 
ment. 

Caesar, to whom the Roman senators had sworn al¬ 
legiance and whose life they had promised to defend, 
came daily to the Senate unarmed and without a guard. 
He despised those who feared death, and said, “It is 
better to die once than to be always in fear of death.” 
He remarked, too, that the best death was that which 
came unexpected. 

In Caesar’s carelessness and in his contempt for 
danger a number of Romans saw a great opportunity 
for getting rid of him. Cassius became their leader, 


lxvi ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


and soon was able to win over sixty, possibly eighty, 
men to a conspiracy against Caesar. The most impor¬ 
tant accession was Marcus Brutus. Caesar, as has been 
said, had for many years been a friend of the mother of 
Brutus, and he had great confidence in Brutus himself. 
He had pardoned him for having taken the side of 
Pompey, and he had advanced him to high office. The 
people of Rome, too, greatly respected Brutus, whose 
honesty and whose patriotism were unquestioned. Cas¬ 
sius, who was a brother-in-law of Brutus, realized that 
with Brutus in the conspiracy the people would believe 
that it had been undertaken for patriotic and not for 
selfish reasons. 

Caesar was to set out in a few days for Parthia. It 
was necessary therefore to act quickly. The Ides, or 
15th, of March was chosen for the deed. The conspira¬ 
tors met the night before at the house of Cassius. 

Their plan was simple. Caesar, as always, would 
attend the Senate unarmed. The senators not in the 
secret would also be unarmed. The conspirators were 
to provide themselves with daggers, easily concealed. 
“Was Caesar only to be killed? ” some of the conspirators 
asked. A few urged that Mark Antony, Caesar’s friend, 
and Lepidus, Caesar’s master of the horse, ought also to 
die. But it was finally decided that Caesar’s death would 
be sufficient. While one of the conspirators detained 
Antony at the door, the others would crowd around 
Caesar’s chair on the pretence of presenting and second¬ 
ing a petition to him. At the given signal they were to 
strike. A gang of gladiators was to be concealed near 
by, to give assistance in case of trouble. 

All went as planned. It is true that Caesar’s wife, hav¬ 
ing had a terrifying dream, tried to keep him at home 
and that the sacrifices offered in the temples showed 


THE ASSASSINATION OF CAESAR lxvii 

unfavorable omens. Caesar himself was depressed, and 
he even yielded to his wife’s urgings and resolved to 
stay at home. But a familiar friend of Caesar, Decimus 
Brutus, hastened to the house of the dictator and en¬ 
treated his attendance at the Senate. Caesar shook off 
his uneasiness and rose to go. It was related that, even 
as he crossed the hall, his statue fell and shivered to the 
stones. But he went forward resolutely. Some stranger 
thrust a paper into his hand and begged him to read 
it; it was found later to contain an account of the 
conspiracy, with a full list of the conspirators. But he 
supposed it to be some request for a favor and thrust 
it carelessly among his other papers. 

He entered the Senate and took his seat. The con¬ 
spirators, grimly determined, gathered around him. 
Metellus Cimber, presenting his petition, caught his 
gown, as if in entreaty, and dragged it from his shoulders. 
Cassius, standing behind him, suddenly stabbed him in 
the throat, and Caesar started to his feet. But blow 
after blow fell on him, and Caesar, seeing no face of a 
friend near by, drew his gown over his head and sank 
down without uttering a word, although one story says 
that, when he saw that Marcus Brutus was among those 
who were lifting their daggers against him, he gazed 
at him reproachfully, cried, “El tu, Brute!” (Thou too, 
Brutus), and allowed himself to be slain. The senators, 
in fear and confusion, fled to their homes. Antony, 
too, hurried off into a hiding place. The murderers ran 
into the streets, crying that the tyrant was dead and 
Borne free. The body of Caesar was left alone in the 
Senate, where only a few weeks before Cicero had made 
an eloquent speech telling Caesar that he was so neces¬ 
sary to the welfare of Rome that all the senators would 
die before they would allow harm to reach Caesar. 


lxviii ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


Brief Quiz 

1. Did Caesar use his power tyrannically? 2. What seems 
to have been his general aim? 3. What were some of the 
ways in which he carried it out? 4. What were some of his 
achievements? 5. What reforms did he introduce at Rome? 
6. What other reforms did he plan? 7. What were the mo¬ 
tives that animated the conspirators? 8. What was Caesar’s 
attitude toward death? 9. Who were the leaders of the con¬ 
spirators? 10. Which one had the particular confidence of 
Caesar himself and of the Romans generally? 11. What was 
the plan of the conspirators? 12. What almost prevented 
the carrying out of their plan? What part did Decimus Brutus 
play? 13. What happened in the Senate? 14. What, ac¬ 
cording to one story, were Caesar’s last words? 15. What 
occurred after the assassination? 

Exercises and Projects 

1. Give a talk on “The Character of Caesar,” using the 
material presented in this chapter and the one preceding it 
and also the extracts to be found on pages 102 ff. 

2. Marcus Cornelius Paulus, the imaginary Roman lad 
mentioned in Chapter III, is taken by his father on a visit 
to Caesar. His father asks Caesar to allow the young Roman 
to serve with him on the expedition to Parthia. On his return 
home Marius tells his younger brother Gaius what took place, 
and gives him his impressions of the great dictator. 

3. Gather as much information as you can concerning the 
calendars of different nations and eras, and give a talk on the 
subject. 

4. Shakespeare showed his interest in Caesar not only by 
writing a play dealing with the last days in the life of this great 
man but by referring to him again and again in the course of 
his thirty-six other plays. There are almost a hundred such 
references in Shakespeare’s other plays —- more references 
than to any other character in the whole range of history. 
Below are gathered some of the more important of these refer¬ 
ences. After reading them carefully, write a paragraph of 
about fifty words, telling what, in your opinion, was Shake¬ 
speare’s view of Caesar. 


THE ASSASSINATION OF C/ESAR kix 

(1) Caesar’s ambition, 

Which swelled so much that it did almost stretch 
The sides o’ the world. — Cymbeline 

(2) Julius Caesar, whose remembrance yet 
Lives in men’s eyes. — Cymbeline 

(3) When Antony found Julius Caesar dead, 

He cried almost to roaring. — Antony and Cleopatra 

(4) What was t that moved pale Cassius to conspire? 

— Antony and Cleopatra 

(5) Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay, 

Might stop a hole to keep the wind away. — Hamlet 

(6) No bending knee will call thee Caesar now. 

— 3 Henry VI 

(7) That Julius Caesar was a famous man; 

With what his valor did enrich his wit, 

His wit set down to make his valor live. 

Death makes no conquest of this conqueror; 

For now he lives in fame, though not in life. 

-— Richard III 

(8) It was a disaster of war that Caesar himself could not 
have prevented.— Alls Well That Ends Well 


CHAPTER XI 

AUGUSTUS CjESAR AND THE GREATNESS OF ROME 

The grandeur that was Rome. — Poe 


For only a very short time were “the liberators,” as 
they thought themselves, triumphant. 

The city was stunned, and Cassius and his fellow 
conspirators were greeted by no such acclaim as they 
had expected. The will of Caesar bequeathed his gar¬ 
dens for use as a park by the Romans, every citizen was 
granted a sum of money, and the great-nephew and 
adopted son of Caesar, Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus, 1 
was made his heir. At the funeral of Caesar Mark An¬ 
tony delivered an affecting funeral oration, and the 
people of Rome turned in fury on Caesar’s slayers. 

In every direction Cassius, Brutus, and their friends 
proved themselves incapable. They were poor politi¬ 
cians, poor statesmen, and poor generals. Octavianus 
formed a new triumvirate with Antony and Lepidus; 
and although he was only eighteen years old when 
Caesar was killed, he soon proved that he had in him 
some great qualities. The Second Triumvirate showed 
itself ruthless against the enemies of Caesar, and many 
of them, including Cicero, were killed. In the field at 
Philippi, the armies of Antony and Octavianus defeated 
those of the conspirators, and Brutus and Cassius came 
to their deaths. Everywhere Caesar’s spirit proved 
triumphant. 


1 Octavius was the young man’s family name; it became Octavianus 
on his adoption. 


lxx 


AUGUSTUS AND ROMAN GREATNESS lxxi 


But once the power of the world was in their hands, 
dissension arose among the members of the Triumvi¬ 
rate. Although Antony had married the sister of 
Octavianus, it soon became evident that the mastery 
of the Roman Empire could not long be divided between 
two men; only one could be the supreme ruler. Antony 
dallied in Eygpt with the celebrated Cleopatra. Finally, 
at the Battle of Actium, Antony was defeated, and not 
long afterwards both he and Cleopatra died by their 
own hands. 

Octavianus then became the master of the world, and 
Octavianus proved himself a great man. In the year 
27 b.c., the Senate bestowed on him the title of augustus , 
the exalted and venerable; and by this name he is best 
known to us. To him had already been granted almost 
all the powers of the Roman government, although 
Augustus, profiting by the lesson of Csesar, was careful 
to preserve the forms of the Roman Republic, even 
though the forms in time became hollow. His own 
chief title was imperator , commander or emperor. He 
was also augustus princeps, or first citizen. Augustus 
Caesar was a man of great dignity and steadiness of 
character, with uncommon powers of statecraft. He 
was, moreover, a notable soldier, and under his rule 
the boundaries of the empire became fixed, except that 
under later emperors Britain was added to the Roman 
domain. Among the first things that Augustus did was 
to regulate the government of the provinces; and partic¬ 
ularly he reduced their taxes, and saw to it that the 
money collected was spent on good roads, bridges, 
aqueducts, and public buildings. 

He was himself a man of plain and simple tastes, and 
he tried to restore the old Roman virtues of moderation 
and frugality. He sought, too, to bring back the old 


lxxii ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


reverence for the gods. But in the outward appearance 
of Rome and in his attitude toward literature and art, 
Augustus was magnificent. It was said of him that he 
found Rome brick and left it marble. During his reign 
the greatest writers whom Rome ever produced did their 
work — Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Livy, and others, — and 
this period in literature is known as the Augustan 
Age. 

With this account of Augustus we say farewell to 
Rome, but it may be well to consider first just what 
Rome has done for the world and how she has affected 
our life to-day. 

Rome civilized the ancient world and made it pos¬ 
sible for the people of one land to communicate easily 
with those of another. Rome set an example of tolerance, 
which was imperfect, perhaps, but which has gradually 
developed into our modern creed that all faiths are on 
an equality before the law. The Roman form of govern¬ 
ment had many defects, but from it all modern nations 
have taken many suggestions, particularly the idea 
that one part of a government may be used to check 
another part. The Roman law is still the foundation of 
the law codes of many of the nations of Europe, and 
in ancient times nations everywhere revered this law 
for its impartiality and justice. 

In the realm of art Rome’s chief contribution was in 
architecture, especially in the development of the arch. 
Arches were erected for ornamental purposes in Rome, 
in connection with the triumphs of great conquerors. 
The Romans were the first to build bridges extensively, 
and in these bridges the principle of the arch was widely 
used. They also built many aqueducts, that is, conduits 
to convey water from a distance to a city; and these 
aqueducts are considered the greatest engineering 


AUGUSTUS AND ROMAN GREATNESS lxxiii 


triumph of the Romans. In the aqueducts arches like¬ 
wise were employed. 

But perhaps the greatest Roman achievement in a 
material way was the roads built through all the cen¬ 
turies of Roman rule. These roads formed a network 
over the whole Roman Empire, and they did much 
to make that empire a real unity. The Roman roads 
were solidly built, so that their remains may be found 
down to the present time. They followed the best 
routes, and these routes are still followed by modern 
highways and by railroads. The engineering genius of 
the Romans was no more daunted by difficulties than 
the engineering genius of to-day; and if a river had to 
be crossed, it was bridged; if a valley had to be spanned, 
a viaduct led across it. Over these roads traveled safely 
and quickly the commerce of the ancient world. 

But undoubtedly the way in which Rome most in¬ 
fluences us to-day is through Latin, the language of the 
ancient Romans. The Latin language is the direct 
ancestor of some of the most important tongues of 
modern times — Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, 
and Rumanian, which are called the Romance languages. 
But even in the case of those languages that are not 
directly derived from Latin, the Latin influence is 
very potent; and this is, above all, true of our own 
language. 

English would not be the powerful, effective, beauti¬ 
ful, rich language that we know and use to-day if it were 
not for the enormous contributions made to its vocabu¬ 
lary and its usages by Latin. 

How did Latin make its way into English? In many 
different ways. Some of our words of Latin derivation, 
street among others, go back to the time when the 
Romans occupied England; and this word is inciden- 


lxxiv ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


tally another proof of the impression made by the 
Roman road on the memory of other nations. Other 
Latin words came into English when the inhabitants of 
Britain adopted Christianity, since the language of the 
Roman Catholic Church was, and still is, Latin. Then 
scholars through all ages have studied Latin, and for 
many ages no man was considered truly learned unless 
he could speak both his native tongue and Latin. Latin 
was then a universal language, such as some to¬ 
day are seeking to make of invented languages, like 
Esperanto. 

To-day, moreover, when we wish to invent a new 
word for a new product or a new idea, we are likely to go 
back to the Latin or the Greek for the word, sometimes 
to both. For example, automobile comes from the Greek 
auto, “itself,” and the Latin mobile, “moving.” We 
use Latin prefixes (like ante, “before,” in antedate) 
and Latin suffixes (like ible in audible, “able to be 
heard”) constantly. Latin phrases, such as a.m. (for 
ante meridiem ) and habeas corpus and vice versa appear 
frequently in our conversation and our writing. Ad¬ 
vertisers make use of Latin words, as in Sanitas oil 
cloth or Corona typewriter or Vita Glass. The motto 
of a nation may be phrased in Latin; for example, 
e pluribus unum. The names of boys and girls ( Augustus, 
Leo, Max, Clara, Norma, Rose, Stella) may come from 
the Latin: those given as examples mean “exalted or 
venerable,” “lion,” “greatest,” “bright,” “pattern,” 
“rose,” and “star.” Inscriptions on a monument or a 
tomb are often phrased in Latin: requiescat in pace, 
“ may he rest in peace,” is the commonest of all grave 
inscriptions. Doctors still write their prescriptions in 
Latin, and on coins and stamps occur Latin words and 
phrases. 


AUGUSTUS AND ROMAN GREATNESS lxxv 


Important Dates in Roman History 

Main Divisions 

I. 753 b.c. - 509 b.c. Rule of the kings 

II. 509 b.c. - 272 b.c. Conquest of Italy under the re¬ 
public 

III. 272 b.c. - 133 b.c. Conquest of the Mediterranean 

coast 

IV. 133 b.c. - 23 b.c. Break-up of the constitution of the' 

republic under the rule of the great 
generals 

V. 23 b.c. - 410 a.d. The Roman Empire — conquests, 
luxury, and decay 

Specific Dates 

753 b.c. Founding of Rome 

510 b.c. The Tarquin expelled 

451-450 b.c. Setting up of the Twelve Tables of the Law 

367-300 b.c. Opening of all offices in the republic to plebeians 

272 b.c Death of Pyrrhus 

264-241 b.c. First Punic War 

218-201 b.c. Second Punic War 

149-146 b.c. Third Punic War 

146 b.c. Destruction of Corinth and of Carthage 
133 b.c. Tiberius Gracchus elected tribune 
86 b.c. Death of Marius 

78 b.c. Death of Sulla 

63 b.c. Conspiracy of Catiline 

60 b.c. First Triumvirate (Pompey, Caesar, and Cras- 

sus) 

58-51 b.c. Caesar conquers Gaul 
49 b.c. Caesar crosses the Rubicon 

48 b.c. Caesar wins Battle of Pharsalia 

44 b.c. Assassination of Caesar 

43 b.c. Second Triumvirate (Octavius, Mark Antony, 

and Lepidus) 

42 b.c. Battle of Philippi — death of Brutus and Cas¬ 

sius 

30 "b.c. Death of Mark Antony and of Cleopatra 

23 b.c. Establishment of the empire 

14 a.d. Death of Augustus Caesar 


lxxvi ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 


Brief Quiz 

1. How did the citizens of Rome receive the work of “the 
liberators”? 2. Who was made the heir of Caesar? 3. What 
new triumvirate was formed? 4. What happened to the 
conspirators? 5. Between what two men did dissension then 
arise? 6. Who became master of the world? 7. What 
titles and powers did the Senate bestow on him? 8. What 
was his character? 9. What great things did he do? 
10. What are some of the achievements of Rome as a civi¬ 
lizer? 11. What are some of her contributions in the realm 
of art? 12. What was the greatest material Roman achieve¬ 
ment? 13. What languages are derived from Latin? 
14. What does English owe to Latin? 15. How did Latin 
make its way into English? 16. Give some examples of 
Latin words and phrases in English. 

Exercises and Projects 

1. Read Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, and bring to 
class a report on the fifteenth scene of Act IY and the second 
scene of Act Y. 

2. Get what facts you can about the Battle of Philippi, in 
which the Second Triumvirate defeated the conspirators. 
Imagine yourself a soldier taking part in this battle on the 
side of the victors. Tell your experiences, as if in conversation 
with a friend at Rome, some weeks later. 

3. Find an account of Augustus in some good history of 
ancient Rome, or look the subject up in a good encyclopedia, 
or read in the New Lamed History the section on Rome be¬ 
ginning 44 b.c. Prepare a talk giving additional facts about 
the great emperor — about two hundred words. 

4. Interview one of the persons mentioned below, and ask 
him to tell you what the contribution of the Romans has been 
in the field indicated: 

(1) A lawyer, in the field of law and government. 

(2) An architect, in the field of architecture. 

(3) A civil engineer, in the field of engineering. 

(4) A teacher of French or Spanish, in the field of language. 

(5) A soldier, in the field of military science. 


AUGUSTUS AND ROMAN GREATNESS lxxvii 


5. Bring to class a report on the interesting facts you have 
gathered from reading, in Alvah Talbot Otis’s Our Roman 
Legacy, the following passages: Part One, Chapters I, IV, 
V, VI, X, XI; Part Two, Chapters I, VII, and XIX. 

Word Study 

1. Define the following words used in this chapter: trium¬ 
virate, conspirators, frugality, law code, aqueducts, viaducts. 

2. What are the Romance languages? Consult a teacher, 
Latin, French, Spanish, or Italian. See if you can explain the 
origin of the word Romance. 

3. What do the following Latin words, used in this chapter, 
mean? — augustus, imperator, princeps, ante, ante meridiem, 
e pluribus unum, leo, clara, norma, stella. What does requiescat 
in pace mean? 

4. See if you can discover what the following Latin words, 
referred to in this chapter, signify: habeas corpus , vice versa, 
sanitas, corona, vita. 

5. To show how important a role words derived from the 
Latin play in the English language, let us take part of one of 
the most famous speeches in Julius Csesar — Mark Antony’s 
oration over the body of Csesar — and analyze it. In the first 
eighteen lines of that oration the words of Latin origin, aside 
from proper nouns, have been italicized: 

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; 

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. 

The evil that men do lives after them; 

The good is oft interred with their bones; 

So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus 
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious: 

If it were so, it was a grievous fault. 

And grievously hath Caesar answered it. 

Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest - 
For Brutus is an honorable man; 

So are they all, all honorable men — 

Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral. 

He was my friend, faithful and just to me: 

But Brutus says he was ambitious; 

And Brutus is an honorable man. 

He hath brought many captives home to Rome, 

Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: 

Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? 


lxxviii ITALY AND THE ANCIENT ROMANS 

(1) Countrymen is, according to Webster, derived from the 
Latin word contra, “over against, on the opposite side,” 
apparently by way of contrast with cities. 

(2) Praise goes back to the Latin pretium, “a price.” ^ 

(3) Interred is from two Latin words, in and terra, “in the 
earth,” that is, “buried.” 

(4) Noble, derived from the Latin nobilis, meant originally 
“well-known;” later, “famous,” “well-born,” “illustrious.” 

(5) Ambitious is explained by Webster as coming from the 
Latin ambitio, which meant “a going around,” especially of 
candidates for office in Rome, to solicit votes; hence, “desire 
for office or honor.” 

(6) Grievous goes back to the Latin gravis, “heavy” or 
“burdensome.” 

(7) Fault is originally from fallere, “to deceive.” 

(8) Rest when it means “repose” comes from the Anglo- 
Saxon. But when it means “remainder” as it does here, it is 
derived from the Latin restare, “to stay back” or “remain.” 

(9) Honorable goes back to the Latin honor, “worship,” 
“fame,” “reverence.” 

(10) Faithful is from the Latin fides, “trust,” from which 
word we also get our term fidelity. 

(11) Just is from the Latin justus, “lawful,” “right.” 
Justus is itself derived from the Latin noun, jus, “right,” 
“law,” “justice.” 

(12) Captives is from the Latin capere, “ to take or seize.” 

(13) Ransoms goes back to the Latin redemptio, “a redeem¬ 
ing or payment for the release of a captive.” 

(14) General is from the Latin genus, “kind or sort.” 

(15) Coffers comes from the Greek through the Latin. The 
word in its original form is cophinus, meaning “a basket,” 
later “a treasure chest.” 

Now read the passage from Mark Antony’s speech aloud, 
and note what force and dignity and pleasantness the words 
derived from the Latin give to it. 

6. Highly interesting, from the standpoint of language, is 
the way in which the personality of Caesar has influenced the 
vocabulary of many nations. Look up: Caesar, kaiser, czar . 

7. Bring to class examples of the use of Latin in advertising, 
on coins, on stamps, as slogans, as mottoes, on medical prescrip¬ 
tions, or whatever else you can find as examples of such use. 


SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 

CHAPTER I 

WARWICKSHIRE AND STRATFORD 

Warwick, that shire which we the heart of England well may call. 

— Michael Drayton 

Almost in the center of England, geographically 
speaking, is the county called Warwickshire; and it 
was at Stratford on Avon in Warwickshire that Shake¬ 
speare, greatest of English, and of all, authors, was bom. 

To-day, and through all the centuries since Shake¬ 
speare’s death, visitors by the hundreds of thousands 
have gone to Warwickshire, and particularly to Strat¬ 
ford on Avon, to see with their own eyes the house in 
which the great dramatist is said to have first beheld 
the light and to gaze on other scenes connected with 
his life and his writings. 

The country of leafy Warwickshire, says one histo¬ 
rian, was typical of the rest of England in Shakespeare’s 
time. It was for the njost part open and unenclosed, 
dotted with what the poet speaks of as “poor pelting 
villages, sheepcotes, and mills.” It is to-day a country 
of gentle undulations, soft-flowing rivers, and well- 
timbered vales. The Avon marks the great natural 
division of the county. The southern open country is 
termed the Feldon or “champagne” country. On the 
northern side is the Arden or the forest land. Across 
the Avon the country is more picturesque; though the 
forest has disappeared, it still retains its sylvan beauty. 
In Shakespeare’s time it was a country of forest wildness 
Ixxix 


lxxx SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 


and freedom. Many of the farms had but recently been 
reclaimed, and most of them had thin bosky acres of 
“toothed briars, sharp furzes, pricking gorse and 
thorns,” hazel copses and outlying patches of downland. 

Frequently the traveler, after having visited Oxford 
and its famous colleges and spires, goes on to Warwick, 
a quaint town on a hill that rises from the Avon River. 
It has many picturesque old houses, and near by, on 
a commanding position that overlooks the river, is 
Warwick Castle, the ancient and stately home of the 
Earl of Warwick. 

From Warwick the traveler may go to Stratford by 
means of the railroad or other conveyance, or he may 
walk to the famous town along either bank of the Avon, 
a distance of eight or ten miles. 

If he walks, he will note many scenes and buildings 
of historic interest: an old church tower at Barford, 
marred by Cromwell’s cannon shots; Charlecote and 
Charlecote Park, where Shakespeare in his youth is 
said to have poached deer and to have been caught and 
visited with the penalty of a public whipping; and the 
pretty village of Alveston among the trees. 

Stratford he will find to be a clean little town, with 
wide and pleasant streets, on which stand many quaint 
half-timbered houses. On Henley Street is the house 
in which, according to the inhabitants of Stratford, 
Shakespeare was born, although authorities generally 
agree in believing that it was not until Shakespeare was 
ten or eleven years old that his father and his family 
removed to this residence. Much of the old Elizabethan 
timber and stonework survive. The house is now the 
property of the British nation. A small chamber on 
the ground floor, facing the street, is shown the visitor 
as that in which the poet was born. The walls of all 


Shakespeare is said to have poached deer in this park. Note what careful provision has been made for ample 

light, and contrast in this respect the view of Warwick Castle. Note the chimneys. 

Photo by Exclusive News Agency. 


















Joined in legend with Caesar’s name. This famous castle near 
Shakespeare’s home was a great fortress in the Middle Ages. In 
the reign of Queen Elizabeth’s successor, James I, it was rebuilt 
with great windows like those seen in the picture of Charlecote. 
The owner was then Sir Fulke Greville, a poet, soldier, and friend 
of Sir Philip Sidney. Courtesy of the Great Western Railway 
of England. 


The So-called “Cesar’s Tower,” Warwick Castle 


WARWICKSHIRE AND STRATFORD lxxxi 


the rooms are covered with the inscribed names of 
visitors; and the signatures of Sir Walter Scott and 
Thomas Carlyle are scratched on the windows. On an 
upper floor may be seen what is called the “Stratford 
portrait” of Shakespeare. The building contains a 
Shakespeare Museum, in which are many interesting 
relics, portraits, early editions, and the like. A garden 
at the back of the house contains a selection of the trees 
and flowers mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays. 

From Henley Street the route leads to High Street, 
where is situated the Quiney House, occupied for thirty- 
six years by the poet’s daughter, Judith. Near by is 
the Harvard house, once the home of the mother of 
John Harvard, founder of Harvard University. At the 
town hall is a statue of Shakespeare that David Garrick, 
the famous actor, presented to Stratford; and within 
are portraits of Shakespeare and of Garrick. Farther 
off is the site of New Place, where Shakespeare resided 
when he returned to Stratford, and it was here that he 
died. Here once stood a mulberry tree that the poet 
himself had planted, and a descendant of this tree may 
be seen at another (but less important) Shakespeare 
museum that adjoins New Place. 

Not far from New Place is the old guild hall, and.it is 
possible that here Shakespeare as a boy and a young 
man may have seen performances of strolling players. 
The upper story of this building, moreover, was the 
grammar school, in which he was educated. 

The most interesting place in Stratford is, however, 
the Church of the Holy Trinity, the central tower of 
which dates from the twelfth century. Here the Shake¬ 
speare devotee may pass from one important object to 
another and reach a climax as he gazes at Shakespeare’s 
grave. The font in which Shakespeare was baptized, 


lxxxii SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 


the register containing the entries of his baptism and 
his funeral, a bust of the poet, executed soon after his 
death; the tombs of Shakespeare’s wife, of his daughter 
Susan, and of his son-in-law Dr. Hall, and many other 
remarkable relics are shown to the throngs of yisitors. 

The Rother Market is overlooked by many Shake¬ 
spearean guides and pilgrims, but there can be no doubt 
that here John Shakespeare, the glover, drove many 
a close bargain; for he bought skins alive, as well as 
dead. Along Rother Street ran a stream, with one or 
two small ponds, at which the panting beasts could 
quench their thirst on arriving from the country. The 
stream is now covered by the roadway, but there are 
still one or two picturesque relics of the old times in the 
quaint half-timbered houses on the right, and others 
on the left, at the corner of Ely Street. 

Elsewhere in Stratford other scenes attract one, 
and for several pleasant summer days one may loiter 
in the old country town or wander along the doublings 
and windings of the Avon. 

In the trees, one traveler records, the rooks keep up 
an almost incessant chorus, and the winds rustle the 
leaves of the old elms as we pass beneath their shade 
to where is heard the sound of rushing water and the 
murmur of the mill wheel. A footpath leads to Lud- 
dington, the hamlet where, probably, Shakespeare was 
married. A pleasant walk it is, of some three miles or 
less, across broad pastures where the larks sing loud and 
clear. Along the river bank the road winds, now high 
above a sullen pool, now close beside a gently rippling 
shallow. Along the narrow overhung pathway of the 
Weir Brake is many a pretty glimpse; and returning, 
just as the end of the tangle is reached, we may see a 
beautiful evening view of Trinity Church spire pointing 


WARWICKSHIRE AND STRATFORD lxxxiii 


heavenward from its bower of trees beyond the meadows 
and the winding stream. 

Perhaps, in these wanderings, one will imagine the 
boy Shakespeare as he walked, in a less hurried age than 
ours, along these sleepy streets or by the willow-shaded 
banks of the Avon. So Longfellow saw the boy Shake¬ 
speare : 

I see him by thy shallow edge 
Wading knee-deep amid the sedge; 

And led in thought, as if thy stream 
Were the swift river of a dream. 

He wonders whitherward it flows; 

And fain would follow where it goes, 

To the wide world, that shall ere long 
Be filled with his melodious song. 

How much of Stratford is as Shakespeare saw it? 
This is what Sir Sidney Lee tells us of the still living 
interest of the principal shrines of Shakespeare Land: 

“Stratford still boasts sufficient survivals of the age 
of Elizabeth to give the sojourner a far-off glimpse of 
Shakespeare’s daily environment. The principal streets 
still bear the names by which he knew them. The 
church on the river bank has undergone little change, 
and time has dealt very kindly with the exterior of the 
ancient chapel of the guild, with the guild hall, and with 
the grammar school, all of which were once overlooked 
by the windows of Shakespeare’s celebrated house at 
the meeting of Chapel Street with Chapel Lane. The 
stone bridge across the Avon is in all essentials the same 
as when the Elizabethans crossed it. The Avon itself 
winds as of old from Naseby to the Severn, with Strat¬ 
ford on its right bank, midway between its source and 
mouth, and at a little distance from Stratford it still 
flows under bridges at Binton and Bidford, which are as 


lxxxiv SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 


authentic relics of the sixteenth century as their fellows 
at Stratford. Numberless villages, like Shottery and 
Snitterfield, pursue the drowsy rural life that seems 
always able to resist time’s ravages.” 

Brief Quiz 

1. In what county and in what town was Shakespeare 
born? 2. What is Warwick noted for? 3. What is the 
general impression Stratford leaves? 4. In what house is 
Shakespeare said to have been born? 5. What are some of 
the things to be seen in this house? 6. What is the Quiney 
house? The Harvard house? 7. What is New Place? 8. For 
what is the guild hall noted? 9. What is the most interesting 
place in Stratford? 

Exercises and Projects 

1. Read, in The Sketch-Book, what Washington Irving says 
about Stratford, and bring to class a summary of his most 
interesting remarks. 

2. Write a letter home from Stratford, as if you had just 
visited the town. Before you begin, see what additional in¬ 
formation you can get at your library concerning it, and study 
the pictures that go with this chapter. 

3. Bring to class any pictures you may be able to borrow 
from friends of yours that have visited Stratford on Avon. 


The house in Stratford in which Shakespeare is said to have been born. Observe the beams, 
the plaster, the grouped windows, and other features of Elizabethan architecture. 

































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Photo by Exclusive News Agency. 


















CHAPTER II 
THE AGE OF ELIZABETH 

The spacious times of great Elizabeth. — Tennyson 

Stratford on Avon was, in Shakespeare’s time, “a 
rather pretty market town,” of about fourteen hundred 
inhabitants; and it was described as having two or 
three very large streets, besides back lanes. Could one 
have walked those streets and lanes, one would meet 
a folk speaking English, but an English very different 
from ours; wearing clothes that would seem strange to 
us, practicing customs and ways that would make us 
marvel. 

Shakespeare lived in a great age, the age of Elizabeth, 
when a woman reigned over England and brought the 
nation to a pitch of prosperity and importance to which 
it had never before attained. Daughter of King Henry 
VIII of the many wives, Elizabeth Tudor came to the 
throne in a period of great difficulty. She was threat¬ 
ened from without by the might now of France and now 
of Spain. Within the realm the people were torn by 
religious dissensions, and commerce was at a low ebb. 

She began her reign in 1558, and before her death in 
1603 she had unified her realm, had become immensely 
popular with her subjects (to whom she was ‘The good 
Queen Bess”), had extended her influence widely in 
America, had defeated the Spanish Armada in a great 
naval battle, and had seen literature and learning 
blossom forth in England into what is called the Eliza¬ 
bethan or “Golden Age” of English literature. 

Ixxxv 


lxxxvi SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 


What was the character of this great queen? At the 
age of twenty-four she was pictured by the ambassador 
of Venice as “ a lady of great elegance of body and mind, 
although her face may rather be called pleasing than 
beautiful; she is tall and well-made; her complexion 
fine, though rather sallow; her eyes and, above all, her 
hands are of a superior beauty.” Her education had 
been excellent. She spoke French and Italian as well as 
she spoke English; she conversed in Latin with fluency 
and accuracy; and even her Greek was passable. She 
loved splendor in all its forms — in the houses she lived 
in, in the dresses she wore, in the pageants that cele¬ 
brated her visits to the homes of her noblemen. It is 
said that three thousand dresses were found in her 
wardrobes after her death. She was witty in conversa¬ 
tion, sometimes brutal in the answers she gave and the 
comments she made. She never married, for to marry 
a French prince would have brought down on England 
the eternal hatred of Spain, and a match with a Span¬ 
iard would have caused France to become similarly 
hostile. She loved flattery, and in the writings of her 
subjects, great and small, even in Shakespeare’s plays, 
may be found the most extravagant compliments to her 
beauty and wit. 

She was a mighty monarch, self-confident, loyal to 
the interests of England, a skillful pilot of the state, 
fascinating in her personality. 

The people over whom she ruled were worthy of her. 
Never has England displayed such enjoyment of the 
color and music of life, such zest and energy and bold¬ 
ness as in the spacious days of Elizabeth. In those days 
England fought against overpowering odds and won, as 
when the little ships of Howard and Drake defeated the 
massive galleons of the Spaniards. In those days 


AGE OF ELIZABETH 


lxxxvii 


English explorers and travelers penetrated to every 
part of the world, and brought back news of rich lands 
whereon later the English standard was planted. In 
those days drama and poetry broke into magnificent 
blossom, and England produced some of the most 
famous writers that have ever lived — Shakespeare, 
Spenser, Francis Bacon, Ben Jonson, Christopher 
Marlowe, Sir Philip Sidney, and many another. 

When Elizabeth was succeeded on her death in 1603 
by her kinsman, James Stuart, who had been James VI 
of Scotland and now became James I of England, the 
glory of England for a time did not diminish. English 
colonies were planted abroad, and many of the great 
writers of the land continued their work: Shakespeare 
wrote a play as late as 1611, and Bacon did not die until 
1626. But James I was not a ruler of the force and 
charm of Elizabeth. Bather, he was a foolish, vain per¬ 
son, without the statesmanship and greatness of his 
predecessor. 

One result of the wide acquaintance that Englishmen 
at this time gained with the customs of other nations 
was a love of luxury and comfort that hitherto had been 
absent. The homes erected in this period were better 
built and better furnished than ever before. The 
characteristic “Tudor architecture,” which has been 
widely imitated in the building of American homes, 
reached its climax in the Elizabethan period, especially 
in the beautiful palaces of that age. These palaces were 
usually planned in the shape of an E or an H, the great 
living hall forming the vertical stroke in the former, 
the crossbar in the latter. The rooms were laid out on 
some intricate pattern, and the roof line, at various 
levels, fitted beautifully into the character of the Eng¬ 
lish countryside. The cottages of the period were usu- 


lxxxviii SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 


ally two storeys high, the upper, supported by brackets, 
projecting beyond the lower. They had bay windows, 
with lattices and swinging casements; a door protected 
by a sloping roof, and walls not' so thick as they had once 
been when the danger of siege was ever-present. 

Two new features of buildings were chimneys and 
glass. Everywhere the roof line was broken by the 
former; and in glass the Elizabethan reveled as if in a 
rich food. Before this time windows had been just 
narrow and draughty loopholes, fit for sending arrows or 
shots at an invader. Now houses had, if anything, an 
extreme quantity of light. The panes were small 
(diamond panes), and there is record of one window 
with thirty-two hundred panes of glass in it. From 
these windows one might look down on beautiful old 
gardens, with stately terraces, broad flights of steps, 
vases and fountains, mazes and grass plots, .yew hedges 
in grotesque shapes. Generally the garden was square 
and bounded by a high brick wall, often covered with 
rosemary and “divers sweet smelling plants.” 

Within was the fine furniture of the period. The 
style in chairs now known as “Windsor” is largely 
derived from that of this age. The tables were massive 
and very long. In well-to-do families rich plate was 
used; the lower classes employed pewter. Manners 
improved, although no doubt we of to-day would be 
shocked by many Elizabethan customs. The floors were 
covered with rushes, changed at long intervals; and on 
the floor was likely to be thrown all refuse and rubbish. 
Although forks were now for the first time introduced, 
table manners remained crude. 

The dress of the time was elaborate and rich in colors. 
Possibly the most striking features were the excessive 
padding and the use of ruffs, held upright by wire props 


AGE OF ELIZABETH 


lxxxix 


and sticks. In this age the art of starching was intro¬ 
duced, and of course immediately produced a new 
fashion. Ruffs became huge in size, and were the cause 
of innumerable jests. Gentlemen wore tall hats, in two 
or three decks; silken hose, elaborately decorated shoes, 
and expensively embroidered doublets, or waistcoats. 

The doublet was usually padded and stuffed till quite 
twice the size of the natural body. It was cut and 
slashed in front and sides so as to show the gay-coloured 
lining of costly material. It was sometimes laced, but 
was more frequently buttoned up the front. Two or 
three buttons at the top were left open, and the shirt 
of delicate white lawn pulled out a little way. This has 
become the open vest and necktie of our own time. 
A pair of drawstrings working in opposite directions at 
the small of the back enabled one to tighten or loosen 
one’s doublet at will. Women’s dresses were made of 
beautiful and costly materials, and changes in fashion 
(from tight sleeves to loose and from flowing to puffed, 
slashed, and slit) were frequent. 

The Elizabethan loved revelry and merriment, 
pageants, and plays. Even on solemn occasions joy¬ 
ousness was characteristic of the subjects of Eliza¬ 
beth. Christmas, commemorated in other countries 
by serious devotions, was marked in England by great 
mirth. Sports and fooleries, feasts and frolics, games 
and/evels filled the days from Allhallows Eve to the 
Feast of Pentecost. Elizabethans loved noise, and 
constantly bells were ringing and cannons being fired. 
Even cruel sports, like bear-baiting and bull-baiting, 
deeply appealed to men and women alike. Dancing was 
the most popular of indoor sports; Elizabeth herself 
was a famous dancer, and it went ill for a courtier who 
could not tread a measure with her. 


xc 


SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 


Of outdoor sports, hunting and hawking were the 
favorites. The latter involved the use of the falcon, 
a hunting bird of the hawk family. To the training and 
use of the falcon innumerable references occur in the 
literature of the time. Straps, called “jesses,” fastened 
the bird to its master’s wrist. The bird’s eyes were 
“seeled,” by means of threads drawn through the lids, 
to accustom it to darkness except at such times when 
it was being flown at game. The height at which the 
bird flew was called the “pitch.” When the game was 
in sight, the falcon dropt on it from above, and then 
came back to its master’s call. 

The Elizabethans were great lovers of music and of 
poetry, and there probably never has been a period in 
the history of mankind when so large a proportion of 
the population was familiar with the making, the play¬ 
ing, and the appreciation of music and the making and 
the love of poetry. The two arts were interwoven, and 
poems were set to music and played to instruments. 
Throughout Shakespeare’s play and the plays of other 
dramatists occur many songs, and to the singing of 
these the audience listened with great delight. Every¬ 
where one heard music. The bass viol hung in the 
drawing-room for the amusement of waiting visitors; 
and the lute, the cithern, or the virginals might be found 
in every barber shop for the use of waiting customers. 
The Elizabethans had music at night, music at dawn, 
music at work, and music at play. 

The age had, of course, its darker aspects. It was a 
cruel age, taking delight in the torture of prisoners, the 
suffering of animals, and the massacre of enemies. 
The notion of violent revenge for a wrong was wide¬ 
spread, and many plays were based on this motive. The 
Elizabethan seamen who showed such courage and skill 


AGE OF ELIZABETH 


XC1 


in braving the Spaniard in the new world and the old, 
who won battles against overwhelming odds and sailed 
recklessly into danger, were nevertheless no better at 
other times than pirates, and their heroic enterprises 
often ended in slave trading. The people of this age 
believed almost universally in witchcraft; and any 
poor old woman, misshapen by age or accident, was 
likely to be burnt at the stake or drowned in a pond 
because the superstitious villagers thought that riding 
in the air on a broomstick, with her black cat in front of 
her, she had brought a terrible storm or had caused some 
enemy to pine away and die. 

The Elizabethans also believed in ghosts. Many 
persons were sure they had seen apparitions, who, it was 
said, were allowed for one reason or another to wander 
around during the night, till cock-crow recalled them 
hastily to their graves. Little was known of science, 
although in this period lived Sir Francis Bacon, who 
by his writings and his investigations brought about 
a great change in thought and became the founder of 
modern science. The alchemists of Shakespeare’s day 
experimented all their lives in the hope of finding some 
way of changing lead to gold or of discovering the 
elixir vitae — the drink that would bestow on a man 
eternal youthfulness. The skies were searched by astrol- 
ogists for signs of the future, and it was believed that 
certain stars or planets exerted on a person’s life a pecul¬ 
iar influence. 

Taken as a whole, the Elizabethan age was a great 
age — one of the most potent and interesting in all 
history. The Elizabethans were restless, seeking 
constantly after new facts, ideas, goals. Christo¬ 
pher Marlowe, greatest of Shakespeare’s forerunners, 
says: ' 


xcii SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 

Nature, that framed us of four elements 
Warring within our breasts for regiment, 

Doth teach us all to have aspiring minds; 

Our souls, whose faculties can comprehend 
The wondrous architecture of the world 
And measure every wandering planet’s course, 

Still climbing after knowledge infinite. 

And always moving as the restless sphere, 

Will us to wear ourselves and never rest. 

“ Still climbing after knowledge infinite ” — that line 
expresses the Elizabethan urge to endless restlessness 
of the mind and body. The Elizabethans explored, ex¬ 
perimented, traveled, read, thought, acted with energy 
and enjoyment. They were a bold, patriotic, creative 
race, of whom the chief flower was William Shakespeare. 

Brief Quiz 

1. Who reigned over England when Shakespeare was born? 
What was her full name? 2. What were some of the difficul¬ 
ties she faced? Did she overcome them? 3. What was her 
character? 4. What were some of the achievements of the 
Elizabethans? 5. Describe the houses of this period. 
6. How did manners improve? 7. What garb did men wear? 
Women? 8. What sort of sports did the Elizabethans enjoy? 
9. What was hawking or falconry? 10. What was the Eliz¬ 
abethan attitude toward music and poetry? 11. What were 
some of the darker aspects of the age? 12. Did the Eliza¬ 
bethans believe in ghosts? 13. What can be said of their 
science? 14. Sum up the characteristics of the Elizabethans. 

Exercises and Projects 

1. Read and report on one of the novels mentioned in the 
reading list (page 147) as laid in this period. Mention in 
particular some of the interesting customs of the Elizabethans. 

2. Give a talk on one of the topics given in the list of Eliz¬ 
abethan customs in the exercises, page 145. 

3. Imagine yourself a traveler who is visiting England 
around 1580. Write a letter home to your brother in Paris, 
describing some of the things you have seen. 


AGE OF ELIZABETH 


xcm 


4. Read up, in histories and encyclopedias, about the de¬ 
feat of the Spanish Armada by the English in 1588. Then 
compose a short story (about two hundred and fifty words) 
dealing with an Elizabethan lad who sees some of the episodes 
in the routing of the Spaniards. 

5. Shakespeare occasionally commits what are called 
anachronisms; that is, he introduces into a play laid in a dis¬ 
tant age or another country details or ideas that are not true 
to the age or country. A famous example is the way in which 
he makes Hector at the siege of Troy (in his play Troilus and 
Cressida ) quote from the philosopher Aristotle, who was not 
born until several centuries after Hector. The following 
lines are examples of anachronisms taken from Julius Csesar. 
Comment on them by explaining the customs of Shake¬ 
speare’s times to which they refer. 

(1) Many a time and oft 
Have you climbed up to walls and battlements, 

To towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops. — I, i. 

(2) Ay, marry, was’t.— I, ii. (Would the ancient Romans 
swear by Mary ?) 

(3) There was a Brutus once that would have brook’d 
The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome 

As easily as a king. — I, ii. (Is the idea of a devil 
Christian or Roman?) 

(4) He plucked me ope his doublet. — I, ii. 

(5) Look in the calendar, and bring me word. — II, i. 

(6) The clock hath stricken three. — II, i. 

(7) For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar’s angel. — III, 
ii. [See (3).] 

(8) Is not the leaf turned down where I left reading? — 
IY, iii. (Did the Romans have paper books?) 

6. Write a comparison of Roman and Elizabethan customs, 
making particular note of houses, dress, food, and amuse¬ 
ments. 

7. Compare Augustus and Elizabeth in one hundred words. 


CHAPTER III 

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, 1564-1616 

He was not for an age, but for all time. — Ben Jonson 

On April 26, 1564, William Shakespeare was baptized 
in the parish church of Stratford on Avon; and it has 
been assumed, in accordance with the custom in such 
baptisms, that he was therefore born on April 23. His 
father was a fairly well-to-do tradesman, his mother of 
somewhat gentler stock. John Shakespeare at one time, 
however/rose to a dignity in Stratford corresponding to 
that of mayor. Most of Shakespeare’s brothers and sis¬ 
ters died, and very little is known as to the character 
of his home life. Tradition reports that, even in his old 
age, John Shakespeare was red-cheeked and merry, and 
one who “durst at any time crack a jest” with his 
famous son. 

Shakespeare attended the Stratford Grammar School 
until he was thirteen or fourteen. In several of his 
plays he shows a fair knowledge of Latin grammar. 
The school was a typical one. The tolling of a bell 
summoned pupils at 6 a.m. The rooms were prisonlike, 
cold and bleak and bare; and in them he stayed till 
eleven, and in the afternoon from one to five. Holidays 
were always the same. They began on the Wednesday 
before Christmas, Easter, and Whitsunday, and lasted 
twelve days. Besides Latin, the boy probably studied 
a little Greek, some mathematics, a little science and 
philosophy. His earliest book would be a hornbook, in 
which the paper pages were protected by a coating of 
transparent horn. Was it of himself that Shakespeare 


XC1V 


xcv 


WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 

was thinking when he pictured the schoolboy, in his fa¬ 
mous passage in As You Like It on the “seven ages? ” — 

Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel 
And shining morning face, creeping like snail 
Unwillingly to school. 

Very likely Shakespeare was a harum-scarum sort of 
boy, intently interested in the games and sports of his 
day, endowed with a keen sense of fun. 

What he did later we do not know. From his earliest 
days, however, he must have had an uncanny knack for 
picking up information and for penetrating into people’s 
minds. He seems to have been able at all periods of his 
career to acquire in an astonishingly brief time the point 
of view of all kinds of trades, professions, and ways of 
life. Let Shakespeare talk to a doctor, and he would 
learn in no time at all some of the medical terms a doctor 
uses and be able to think, if he wanted to, as the doctor 
thinks. Let him chat with a sailor from overseas, and 
he would acquire from him yarns to be used later in a 
play and some of the slang of the sea. 

So it follows that the men of many walks of life are 
each of them persuaded that Shakespeare must at one 
time have followed his vocation or his amusement. The 
lawyer asserts Shakespeare must have been for a time 
in a law office, the teacher that he once stood as an in¬ 
structor before a class, the traveler in Italy that Shake¬ 
speare once voyaged to that land, because his plays are 
so frequently laid there. Only a few authors — Dickens, 
Defoe, Kipling, for example — can be compared to 
Shakespeare in this astounding ability to pick up infor¬ 
mation rapidly. 

Shakespeare’s career in Stratford seems to have closed 
somewhat abruptly. It is known that he married Anne 
Hathaway, a woman considerably his senior, and he had 


xcvi SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 

three children. One legend as to his departure from 
Stratford is to the effect that he was caught deer stealing 
on the neighboring estate of Sir Thomas Lucy, was 
whipped for the offense, and made up his mind to leave 
his native town. Modern historians throw a great deal 
of doubt on the deer-stealing story. 

It is believed, however, that the increase in his family 
made it necessary for him to find a definite way of earn¬ 
ing a living and that he was attracted to the theater. 
Perhaps he had taken part in amateur theatricals, of 
which the Elizabethan age was very fond. He must 
have attended professional performances, for companies 
of strolling players had often come to Stratford. In the 
middle twenties, at any rate, Shakespeare set off for 
London, seemingly resolved to be an actor. 

Once more we know very little of what happened to 
him. Tradition pictures him performing menial services 
in the theater until he could obtain a foothold. Once in 
a good company, however, Shakespeare’s rise was rapid. 
Let us note here two important personal qualities of 
Shakespeare. He was very likable, and he was very 
practical. He seems to have made friends easily and 
to have won the regard of his fellow players and their 
patrons. On the other hand, he did not neglect such 
opportunities as arose to establish his finances on a 
sound basis. He became in time a shareholder in the 
company to which he was attached; and later on he ac¬ 
quired a considerable amount of wealth. He was able 
to go back to Stratford, purchase the most expensive 
residence (New Place) in the town, and prove to his 
fellow townsmen that he was a man of substance. 

In the theater he performed three functions: He was 
an actor, a playwright, and a manager. In the first 
capacity Shakespeare did not attain highest rank; 


WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE xcvii 

he was not the equal of the great actor of that day, 
Richard Burbage. It is stated that he performed 
mainly old men’s roles and also that he took the part of 
the Ghost in Hamlet. As a playwright Shakespeare 
greatly attracted audiences. Apparently he began his 
career in this field by patching up and revising old plays 
that were being revived. Possibly he collaborated with 
better-known dramatists. Later he wrote plays entirely 
of his own. He showed himself always ready to follow 
the popular mood of the moment; and if farces were the 
rage, he provided farces, like The Comedy of Errors; if 
romantic dramas were fashionable, he wrote romantic 
dramas, like The Winter s Tale. None of his plays, it 
should be mentioned, were ever published by Shake¬ 
speare. As a manager, Shakespeare was, one judges, 
very skillful; and he won and held the esteem and re¬ 
spect of his company and his patrons. 

Shakespeare’s great success roused a certain amount 
of enmity, particularly at the beginning. The fact that 
he was not a graduate of Oxford or Cambridge made 
those who had had the benefit of training at these 
universities look down upon him, as an ignorant up¬ 
start. But in time he made his way into the best circles 
of London, met the young aristocrats on an equal foot¬ 
ing, and took part in the bohemian gatherings at the 
Mermaid Tavern, where he and Ben Jonson had many a 
bout of wit. Shakespeare was “very good company,” 
a contemporary of his records. 

It has lately become clear that Shakespeare was 
associated with one group which is particularly interest¬ 
ing to us. This group consisted of a number of men who 
had much more liberal and democratic political views 
than most of the men of their time, and they sought to 
give expression to these views in the form of colonies 


xcviii SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 

in America. One such venture was actually sent to 
Virginia, but was shipwrecked in the Bermudas, and 
from the account of the voyage and of the wreck Shake¬ 
speare is thought to have drawn material for the last 
play he wrote, The Tempest. 

Of Shakespeare in the height of his fame we get many 
glimpses, and a large number of references to him by his 
contemporaries have been collected. We have, too, an 
account of a lawsuit in which he was a witness and other 
information as to his doings. 

One writer imagines a day in Shakespeare’s life in 
London in 1591, when Shakespeare was working for 
Burbage’s theater. He rose early, as was the custom. 
His breakfast was simple — possibly beef and bacon 
with ale. Inasmuch as the theater opened at three in 
the afternoon, his working hours probably were between 
breakfast and that time. During these free hours 
he would work on his plays, and on poems that he 
reckoned as of much greater importance than his plays. 
Or he might study French or Italian with John Florio 
in Shoe Lane. He might visit one of the theatrical 
magnates of the day, Henslowe, and sharpen his wits 
in talk with him. By eleven he would be back at his 
lodgings for his midday dinner of beef and ale, with a 
meat-pasty or pudding to follow. More work on the 
plays would fill the hours till three. 

The question is sometimes raised: Did Shakespeare 
write these great plays that go under his name? Could 
a countryman of little education compose Hamlet and 
King Lear, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet, The Midsum¬ 
mer Night’s Dream and Henry IV? The answer no was 
first given to this question by Delia Bacon in 1857. 
She was a gifted woman who later became insane. Her 
theory was that Francis Bacon and several others wrote 


WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 


XC1X 


the plays. Since then, other candidates for the honor 
have been selected, until it seems that almost any one 
in Queen Elizabeth’s reign (including the queen herself) 
may have written the plays — but not Shakespeare. 
Some persons have almost a mania on this subject, and 
they make the most amazing statements and misstate¬ 
ments in the effort to prove that Shakespeare was not 
Shakespeare. A recent book, by one Thomas Loonie, 
seeks to turn the plays over to the Earl of Oxford. 

The truth is that Shakespeare, better than any one 
else, could have written and did write the plays. Only 
a man experienced in the theater could have done so, 
and Bacon, for example, never had this experience. 
Moreover, there are in existence poems by Bacon; and 
when we examine these poems and see how pitifully 
poor they are, he is immediately eliminated. Nor could 
the learned Bacon have committed Shakespeare’s an¬ 
achronisms (see p. xciii). It is not true that we know 
little about Shakespeare. Compared with the other 
men of his time (with the exception of Jonson), we know 
a great deal about him. Nor ought we to say that his 
faulty education bars him from consideration. One of 
our own greatest American prose writers and orators is 
Lincoln, who had even less schooling than Shakespeare. 

From an examination of Shakespeare’s plays one 
scholar has arrived at some interesting conclusions as 
to Shakespeare himself. He says, “Shakespeare dis¬ 
liked dogs, cosmetics, and artificial hair, drunkenness, 
crowds of dirty and ill-smelling citizens, pedantry, 
affectation, and self-conceit; he was fond of horses, 
flowers, music, puns, downrightness, loyalty, and his 
country. We know that he was interested in all kinds 
of people, and was peculiarly conscious of the charm 
and the mental and spiritual prowess of women.” 


c SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 

We know, too, that he must have been an extraor¬ 
dinarily keen observer, like some modern reporter of 
superhuman ability. He observed not merely outward 
details, like a man’s face or his dress, but also the way 
in which his mind worked. With this gift went another 
gift — the ability to express himself in words. No human 
being that has ever lived could equal Shakespeare in 
this respect; and the result is that more common quo¬ 
tations and sayings come from Shakespeare’s writings 
than from those of any other author, ancient or modern. 
He could write, moreover, in such a way as to produce 
either laughter or tears. 

As Shakespeare grew older, his great desire was to 
return to Stratford and live there as a gentleman. 
In 1611, perhaps earlier, he was able to gratify his wish, 
although he seems to have kept on writing occasional 
plays. His son Hamnet died as a boy; his daughter 
Susanna was married in 1607 to Dr. John Hall, a noted 
physician; his daughter Judith was married in 1616 to 
Thomas Quiney. In that year Shakespeare himself died, 
and was buried in the parish church where he had been 
baptized. An inscription over his grave forbids any 
one to disturb his bones. 

Since his death Shakespeare’s fame has mounted 
prodigiously, until to-day he is acknowledged as the 
greatest author that ever lived. It is on his plays, first 
published together in the First Folio of 1623, that his 
fame rests. They have been translated ipto every civ¬ 
ilized tongue and played on the stage in every land. 
They have been studied endlessly. In the United 
States, it is said, one book out of every three hundred 
published deals with Shakespeare and his plays. Cole¬ 
ridge called him “the myriad-minded” and spoke of his 
“oceanic mind,” and no one can examine his plays 


WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 


ci 


seriously without finding in them rich feelings, deep 
thought, and beautiful words. 

One great task that has occupied scholars has been the 
arrangement of Shakespeare’s plays in the probable order 
in which they were written. So arranged, the plays 
show a general and striking development. We may 
watch him at the beginning, a cobbler and adapter of 
other men’s work, then imitating and surpassing the 
great Christopher Marlowe. We may compare the 
light mood of his early comedies with the more serious 
study of life in his later comedies, or we may trace the 
growth of power in his tragedies and the mellowing of his 
mind in the final dramas that he composed. His 
writings are often divided, therefore, into periods like 
these: 

I. Epoch of Early Work (Immaturity), 1591-1593. 

II. Epoch of Maturing Art (Great Comedies and 
Histories) 1594-1601. 

III. Epoch of Mature Art (Great Problem Plays), 
1602-1609. 

IY. Epoch of Contemplation and Romance, 1610- 
1611. 

Julius Caesar, it is believed, was composed between 
1599 and 1601. 

Reading Shakespeare’s play, one meets a varied com¬ 
pany, a whole world. His characters range in social rank 
from the king to the cobbler and the bellows mender. 
There are princes, courtiers, pages, gallants, soldiers 
and sailors, shepherds, clowns, city merchants, the 
country justice and the country constable, school¬ 
masters, parsons, faithful old servants, lively waiting- 
maids, roysterers, light-fingered rascals, foreigners, 
husbands and wives, Welshmen, Frenchmen, Germans, 
Moors, Jews, savages, gracious ladies, rustic girls, 


cii SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 

young men, old men, maidens, wives, widows, people 
of the ancient world, people of the other world — all 
sorts and conditions of human beings, engaged in all 
kinds of enterprises, showing feelings aroused by every 
manner of situation — a whole world, one may repeat. 

Does Shakespeare show any special favor to any class 
of characters? Yes — to those who manifest a keen 
English patriotism and to his fine ladies. “ Shakespeare,” 
said John Ruskin, “has no heroes: he has only heroines. 
The catastrophe of every play is caused always by the 
folly or fault of a man; the redemption, if there be any, 
is by the wisdom and virtue of a woman, and failing 
that, there is none.” 


Why Shakespeare is Considered to be 
The World’s Greatest Writer 
Because of — 

1. His gift for writing beautiful poetry. 

2. His ability to tell an entertaining story in the form of a 

piay. 

3. His faculty for making his characters seem lifelike and 

for expressing their emotions convincingly. 

4. His knowledge of all kinds of people and his sympathy 

with them. 

5. His deep appreciation of nature. 

6. His superlative gift for phrasing ideas so that we remem¬ 

ber his words. 

7. His power to show all aspects of life, its tragedy and its 

comedy, its terror and its pleasantness. 

8. His richness of thought, so that always something new 

is found in him. 

9. His reflection of a great age, its color and form. 

10. His many-sidedness, as a poet, a dramatist, a thinker. 
Among his defects are mentioned: his occasional care¬ 
lessness, his too great fondness for odd figures of speech 
and for puns, the improbabilities to be found in his plays 
at times. 


WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE ciii 

Brief Quiz 

1. Give some facts as to Shakespeare’s family. 2. What 
did Shakespeare learn at school? 3. How do mistaken notions 
as to his vocation in early life arise? 4. What event caused 
him to leave Stratford? 5. What profession did he adopt in 
London? 6. Mention two important personal traits of 
Shakespeare. 7. What three functions did he perform in 
the theater? 8. What were his relations to the men of his 
time? 9. What can be said as to the idea that he did not 
write the plays ascribed to him? 10. What can we say as to 
Shakespeare himself? 11. Where did he spend his last years? 
12. How has his fame mounted? 13. What great task has 
especially occupied scholars? 14. Name some of the charac¬ 
ters to be met in his works. 15. Give some reasons for con¬ 
sidering him the world’s greatest writer. 

Exercises and Projects 

1. Read one of the books on the reading list, page 147, that 
deal with the life or works of Shakespeare, and bring a report 
to class on some interesting facts that you discover. 

2. Francis Meres, a London gentleman, has an opportunity 
to meet Shakespeare at the house of a friend Have him in¬ 
scribe in his diary an account of the meeting. Use, if you can, 
language that is somewhat old-fashioned. 

3. Which of the characters mentioned on page ci as ap¬ 
pearing somewhere in Shakespeare should you most like to 
meet? See if you can find the play in which he figures. 


CHAPTER IV 

LONDON AND THE LONDON PLAYHOUSES 

Shall we to the Globe and see a play? — Rowlands 

One of the great achievements of Elizabeth’s reign was 
the making of the city of London the commercial center 
of the world. When she ascended the throne, Antwerp 
in the Netherlands ruled finance and commerce. But 
the religious wars which racked the Netherlands brought 
immense losses to Antwerp, and in London the genius 
of a great trader, Sir Thomas Gresham, turned the tide 
of affairs so that the power in commerce thereafter 
passed to the English city. Queen Elizabeth was popu¬ 
lar with the Londoners; and when, at the time of the 
Spanish Armada, she asked London for fifteen ships 
and five thousand men, she received instead thirty 
ships and ten thousand men, while trained bands, to 
the number of ten thousand men more, paraded each 
evening at the artillery ground in Spital Field. 

The leading feature of Elizabethan London was its 
great port. The famous Tower (still in existence) and 
London Bridge were the city’s defences against attack 
by water. Near the Tower was the customs house, 
where dues were paid on imported goods; and between 
the customs house and the bridge was the great wharf 
of Billingsgate, where goods were landed for distribution. 
Along the river front were many other wharves, where 
barges and lighters unloaded goods brought from the 
ships in the river road or from the upper reaches of the 
Thames. 

civ 


LONDON AND THE PLAYHOUSES cv 

The passenger traffic of Elizabethan London was 
carried on chiefly by means of rowboats. The streets 
(except two or three of the main arteries) were too 
narrow for carriages. The maps of this period show an 
extraordinary number of “ stairs ” for landing passengers 
along both banks of the river. In addition to the smaller 
passenger boats, there were several ferries. 

London of that day had numerous quarters for foreign 
residents, just as London of to-day has, but in Eliza¬ 
beth’s time these foreign quarters were important 
trading centers. At Steelyard was the domain of the 
merchants of the Hanseatic League, a federation of 
north German cities. In Lombard Street might be 
found merchants of Germany, France, and Italy, each 
group distinguished by its costumes and often by the 
wares it sold. Thus those from Milan sold ladies’ hats; 
hence our term millinery. Cheapside was the chief traf¬ 
fic way westward in Elizabethan London. Here were 
shops and warehouses of all kinds, and they formed a 
thriving business center that was the pride of the city. 

The splendid cathedral of St. Paul’s was the religious 
and social center of London in this period, and from it 
radiated streams of activity of many sorts. It was the 
official place of worship for the officers of the Corpora¬ 
tion of London, and with them were joined numerous 
merchants. The monarch and the nobility on special 
occasions attended the services. Booksellers and sta¬ 
tioners made a busy center of the region near St. 
Paul’s, and in its aisles and in the near-by streets often 
congregated the literary men of the time for gossip and 
exchange of information. 

Dekker describes the strange crowd at St. Paul’s 
composed of ‘"the knight, the gallant, the upstart, the 
gentleman, the clown, the captain, the apple-squire, 


cvi SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 

the lawyer, the usurer, the citizen, the bankrupt, the 
scholar, the beggar, the doctor, the idiot, the ruffian, 
the cheat, the Puritan, the cutthroat, highwayman, 
and thief; of all trades and professions some; of all 
countries some. Thus while Devotion kneels at her 
prayers, doth Profanation walk under her nose in con¬ 
tempt of Religion.” 

Southwark in London was closely connected with 
Shakespeare, and here was situated his theater, the 
“Globe upon Bankside.” Close to it was the Rose 
Theater, and not far off were two pits for bear-baiting 
and bull-baiting; and even up to the present time the 
region is often called the Bear Garden. From the land¬ 
ing place on the Thames one might see the towers and 
spires of London rising across the river and stretching 
to the hills at the horizon. 

London as a whole presented a great contrast between 
the somewhat mean shops and residences of its lower and 
middle classes and the fine palaces and castles of the 
nobility along the river. The city to the modern eye and 
nose would seem unsanitary, on account of the unsightly 
and unfragrant open sewers, but the Thames itself was 
still uncontaminated and famous for its pure water and 
swarming fish. The plague visited the city again and 
again, and in three years — 1593, 1603, and 1625 — is 
said to have taken a hundred thousand lives. By the 
end of the reign of Elizabeth the population of London 
must have reached two hundred thousand, about double 
what it had been when she ascended the throne. 

Life in Elizabethan London was gay and energetic. 
The growing prosperity of the Londoners, the success 
with which Elizabeth conducted affairs foreign and do¬ 
mestic, the outburst of literature and drama, the 
introduction of new means of comfort and luxury, the 




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Note the starched ruffs, the doublets, and other details of Elizabethan apparel. 



































LONDON AND THE PLAYHOUSES cvii 


influx of foreign merchants and foreign goods, these 
and other factors made for a growing spirit of enjoy¬ 
ment. Many traveled on the Continent or to Asia or 
America, and brought back strange tales and strange 
goods. Forks, toothpicks, potatoes, tobacco, and 
coaches were a few of the novelties that soon won their 
way with the fashionable Londoner. 

One writer describes the sounds of Elizabethan 
London: “We hear the cries of the white-aproned 
cooks in East Chepe crying out, ‘Hot ribs of beef,’ 
‘Pies well baked.’ Falstaff and others like him are 
calling to Dame Quickly, ‘Come, give’s some sack.’ 
Riotous apprentices are calling ‘Clubs.’ Foreign faces 
and garb meet us in the streets, and savage tongues 
mingle with the English. Poor prisoners in Newgate, 
the Fleet, the Clink, the Compter, cry aloud to the 
passers-by for meat and bread. Ballad-singers chant the 
latest ballad. Autolycus is peddling his wares. Every 
one is in a hurry. Courtiers are returning from White¬ 
hall, the crowds of people from the play or the bear- 
baiting; and as the evening shadows fall, the watchmen 
call out to the dwellers in the overhanging houses, 

‘ Hang out your lights! ’ The rufflers and the criminals 
prowl about seeking whom they may devour. Down 
Wapping Way there are taverns and narrow streets and 
ropewalks, and there ear-ringed sailors in the inns in 
an atmosphere foul with tobacco tell of strange adven¬ 
tures in the Spanish Main and of their battles with the 
Spaniards.” 

There was, however, one group that was not pleased 
by the growing luxury and freedom of manners — the 
Puritans. They protested vigorously against these 
new-fangled ways, and so far as the drama was con¬ 
cerned, they managed to banish all theaters from the 


cviii SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 

City proper; and the players and their audiences were 
forced to cross the river, to the theaters on Bankside. 
Still it must be added that the city fathers objected to 
the playhouses not only because they thought them 
immoral, but because they carried with them constant 
danger of rioting, fire, and the plague. 

Yet enough citizens of London approved plays to 
maintain six theaters. These were kept open winter 
and summer, at such times when the government did 
not interfere. One authority holds that a larger pro¬ 
portion of the population attended plays than at any 
other period in history, and the popularity of the spoken 
drama in those days resembled that of the movies in 
our own. The people of this audience for which Shake¬ 
speare wrote his plays must have been both appreciative 
and experienced. They liked strange and stirring sights 
on the stage; they enjoyed sentimental, poetical 
speeches and the picturing of personal adventures; 
they loved the play of wit and the music of words and 
of instruments; they wished tragedy to be mixed with 
comedy. They wanted their playwrights to show hor¬ 
rors, ghosts, revenge, manslayings; and such dramatists 
as Marlowe, Shakespeare himself, and Webster re¬ 
sponded by giving them these things, but at the same 
time the deepest and most subtle thoughts, the most 
magical poetry, treasures of wit. All this they enjoyed 
and followed closely. 

Originally plays had been performed, during the 
Middle Ages in Europe, in churches or in connection 
with religious festivals. They dealt with episodes in 
the Bible and later with happenings in the lives of 
saints. The actors in such plays were often the members 
of some guild; the shipwrights’ guild, for example, 
would perform scenes from the story of Noah’s Ark. 


LONDON AND THE PLAYHOUSES cix 

Later were developed companies of strolling players, 
who usually performed their dramas in the courtyard 
of an inn. These players as a rule were not persons of 
great respectability, and they were regarded as rogues 
and vagabonds. Such companies often appeared in 
Stratford, and we can be certain that their perform¬ 
ances were attended by the youthful Shakespeare. 

The first theater in London was built by James Bur¬ 
bage, and at the beginning the very form of this and 
other theaters preserved the idea of a performance in 
a courtyard. In the pit, or the main floor of the theater, 
stood the common crowd — the groundlings , as they 
were called, because they were on the ground. Above 
them a balcony (corresponding to the balcony in an inn) 
encircled the pit, and here might be found the better 
class of spectators, some of whom, however, sat on the 
stage itself and frequently made themselves a nuisance 
to the players and the audience. The stage projected 
out into the pit, and to it led two doors. Back of these 
doors were the dressing or tiring rooms of the players. 
At the rear of the outer stage was an inner stage, cur¬ 
tained off, wherein might be presented an arbor, a bed¬ 
room, a cave, or the like. This inner stage was 
provided with a balcony; and here took place the 
famous scene, for example, in which Juliet, above, 
addresses Borneo, below. 

This stage imposed certain limitations on Shakespeare 
and his fellow dramatists, and these must be understood 
if his and their plays are to be read intelligently. The lack 
of a curtain before the outer stage made it impossible 
to close the scene on a death, for instance. Some means 
had to be provided for carrying off the body of a person 
who had been killed or had died. Thus Mark Antony 
and a servant carry the body of Caesar off the stage. 


cx 


SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 


There was, probably, very little scenery, and a great 
deal was therefore left to the imagination of the au¬ 
dience. It is by no means certain, however, that a sign 
was put up telling the audience that this was “An 
Island” or that “A Castle.” An altar would suggest a 
whole church; a table with bottles on it, an inn; 
benches, a scene in a house. The theaters seem to have 
had “mossy banks” and “trees” to represent outdoor 
scenes. The costumes of the actors, on the other hand, 
seem often to have been very costly. In some instances 
they were discarded garments of noblemen, who had 
perhaps used them while acting in the popular masques, 
or amateur theatricals, of the day. 

The actors in these plays were all men; and boys, 
with voices still unbroken, took the parts of women. 
Cleopatra, in Antony and Cleopatra , is scornful lest 
some “squeaking Cleopatra boy ” her greatness on the 
stage. This is perhaps one reason why in any play of 
Shakespeare’s the number of feminine roles is small. 
Yet these boy actors must have been excellent, because 
often Shakespeare gives to the women characters im¬ 
portant and difficult parts in the play. The actors’ 
companies were often attached to some nobleman for 
protection, even to the monarch. Thus there were the 
Queen’s Company, the Earl of Leicester’s Players, and 
others. 

The greatest actor of the age was Richard Burbage, 
and for him Shakespeare wrote his greatest plays. The 
son of an actor and theater owner, Burbage was born to 
the art and the business of the stage. He seems to have 
played the leading role in Shakespeare’s plays from 
Love's Labor s Lost, at the very beginning of Shake¬ 
speare’s career, to Henry VIII, at the very end. He is 
mentioned in the will of Shakespeare, and died three 


LONDON AND THE PLAYHOUSES cxi 

years after his friend. An elegy says of him, “He’s 
gone, and with him what a world is dead,” referring to 
the large number of roles that he had created. 

The performances in the theater began between two 
and three o’clock. The price of admission was taken at 
the door, as there was nothing in the nature of tickets. 
The lowest class of playgoers paid a penny for the priv¬ 
ilege of standing in the yard. For seats in boxes on each 
side of the stage the charge was often as much as twelve 
shillings. The performance generally lasted two hours. 
Through its course vendors of nuts and fruits moved 
about in the crowd. The gallants in the boxes smoked; 
the apprentice lads exchanged rude jokes. How the 
theaters were lighted is not known; possibly flaring 
torches lighted up the scene on the often dim and 
gloomy London afternoons. Music accompanied the 
performance, or was played in the intermissions. 


Brief Quiz 

1. In what ways was London important during the reign 
of Elizabeth? 2. Mention some landmarks in the City at 
that time. 3. How was passenger traffic chiefly handled? 
4. Where was the business center? 5. What quarter was 
connected with Shakespeare? 6. What contrast did houses 
in London offer? 7. What was the population of the city? 

8. What factors made London a gay and energetic city? 

9. What group did not like the growing luxury? What 
action did they take against the theaters? 10. What was the 
attitude of the majority of the population to playhouses? 
What kinds of plays did they like? 11. How did the drama 
develop during the Middle Ages? 12. What was the model 
for the early theaters? 13. Describe an Elizabethan play¬ 
house. 14. What limitations did the Elizabethan theater 
impose on Shakespeare? 15. Give some facts as to the 
actors, particularly as to Burbage. 16. Tell about the per¬ 
formances in an Elizabethan theater. 


cxii SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 

Exercises and Projects 

1. A young nobleman who is a friend of yours invites you 
to come up to London around Christmas time. You accept 
his invitation. On your return home you tell your younger 
brother and your older sister what you saw. Write a dialogue 
giving your conversation. 

2. Strolling players still wander from place to place in 
many countries, and in the past numerous tales have been 
written about them. Perhaps the most famous is Rafael 
Sabatini’s Scaramouche, which describes the experiences of a 
wandering actor at the time of the French Revolution. Read 
the section of the story (Part II) that tells of these adventures, 
and give a brief summary to your class. 

3. Everyman, by an unknown author, is a typical play in 
the early development of the English drama. Read this, or 
part of it, and mention some of the ways in which it differs 
from modern plays. 

4. English names are often pronounced differently from 
what one expects. Look up in Webster, for example, the words 
Thames and Leicester. Another interesting word is Billings¬ 
gate, which has come to mean “foul and abusive language” 
(Webster). See what the dictionary tells you as to the origin 
of this meaning. In connection with Cheap side, look up the 
word cheapen. What does Puritan mean? 


CHAPTER V 

SHAKESPEARE AS A PLAYWRIGHT 

When Burbage played, the stage was bare 

Of fount and temple, tower and stair; 

Two backswords eked a battle out; 

Two suppers made a rabble rout; 

The Throne of Denmark was a chair! 

And yet, no less, the audience there 

Thrilled through all changes of Despair, 

Hope, Anger, Fear, Delight, and Doubt, 

When Burbage played! 

— Austin Dobson 

Shakespeare is the greatest poet, the greatest master 
of language, one of the greatest story-tellers ever known, 
and an eminent thinker. But he was, in addition to 
these, the greatest dramatist the world has ever seen, 
and to understand him properly it is necessary to study 
his plays not merely as poetry, or language, or story, or 
thought, but, above all, as plays. He wrote Julius 
Caesar for the stage — the stage of his own day. 

It is, therefore, Shakespeare the Elizabethan play¬ 
wright who demands first consideration in our efforts to 
comprehend the greatness of this play. Even if we do 
no more than act it out in the theater of our own 
imagination, we ought to do so with regard to the rules 
and restrictions which Shakespeare had to observe. 
Certainly we gain a new insight into Julius Caesar if we 
can see a company of intelligent and trained actors 
perform it; and much is gained if we ourselves take the * 
parts and stage the play as best we can. 

On bare boards, with spectators cluttering up its 
sides, with no curtain and little scenery, with two doors 

cxiii 


cxiv SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 

and a gallery above, Julius Caesar was first performed. 
Our stage today is a picture frame. We sit out in front 
and watch a set of figures before us play out a series of 
shifting scenes. In Shakespeare’s time the stage was a 
platform; it was surrounded on three sides by the 
audience, and the actors were in closer communion and 
communication with those who watched them than they 
are to-day. 

The lack of scenery, which to us seems a great dis¬ 
advantage, was not altogether without compensations. 
Inasmuch as there was no stage manager to provide 
mimic castles, lakes, fields of battle, buildings, or 
streets, it became necessary for each of the spectators 
to be his own stage manager in this respect. His imagi¬ 
nation provided all of this scenery, and the dramatist 
appealed to each beholder of a play to let his fancy 
work vigorously, so that in his mind’s eye he might see 
the places that the words of the play suggested to him. 

In the Prologue to Henry V Shakespeare asks pardon 
of his audience for having dared “on this unworthy 
scaffold [the stage] to bring forth so great an object” 
as warlike Harry and his deeds. He asks: 

Can this cockpit hold 
The vasty fields of France? Or may we cram 
Within this wooden O the very casques 
That did affright the air at Agincourt? 

No, the answer is. The helmets, the men, and the 
battlefield cannot be brought within the circle of the 
Globe Theater (this wooden 0). But, he continues, 
“let us on your imaginary forces work,” so that you 
will see two mighty kingdoms within the girdle of the 
theater walls. 

Think, when we talk of horses, that you see them 
Printing their proud hoofs i’ the receiving earth. 


View of London 

The Dutch artist, Visscher, drew this picture in 1616, the year of Shakespeare’s death. Find 

the Globe Theater with the flag on top, announcing a performance. 





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SHAKESPEARE AS A PLAYWRIGHT cxv 


To such appeals the Elizabethan audience responded 
eagerly, and the results were astonishing. The imagina¬ 
tion of those for whom Shakespeare wrote his plays was 
not only able to create the scenery and background of 
the plays, but it became so vigorous and lively that it 
could grasp difficult thoughts with ease, understand 
rapid and witty byplay among the characters, appre¬ 
ciate beautiful poetry, and in general follow the course 
and plot of complicated plays, involving feelings and 
events of great variety. Most Elizabethan plays took 
two hours to perform, and the Elizabethan audience 
grasped all that was said and done on the stage in this 
space of time. Modern audiences sometimes find it 
hard to follow the same plays, even though parts are 
omitted and three hours are given to the performance. 

Of such stage apparatus as his period afforded, 
Shakespeare made ready use. But in the light of 
modern performances the stage was bare and crude. 
Actors were not figures in a brilliant picture, as is the 
case to-day. They were rather orators directly address¬ 
ing an audience and themselves part of that audience. 
Hence the large number of long and fine speeches in 
Shakespeare’s plays, the greatest of which is Mark 
Antony’s oration over the dead body of Csesar. 

Each scene was complete in itself, and the audience 
seems to have been less interested in the plot as a whole 
and in the connection of one part with another than in 
single effects —an exciting murder, a trial scene, a 
duel, a love scene, a debate. All was done rapidly; the 
action was sw#t, the speeches trippingly delivered. 
Revenge, love, ambition, these were some of the prin¬ 
cipal themes. The audience was patriotic, and many of 
Shakespeare’s plays, therefore, deal with English his¬ 
tory, and the love of England is expressed again and 


cxvi SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 

again. Shakespeare likewise takes his audience to 
many brilliant and famous places — ancient Rome, 
strange Egypt, picturesque France and Italy, a desert 
island, war-encircled Troy. 

As he wrote, moreover, Shakespeare had one fact con¬ 
stantly in mind: He must write roles that would fit 
the actors of his company. As a practical man Shake¬ 
speare realized that there was no sense in his composing 
a drama with more parts in its list of characters than 
the members of his company could fill. Nor was it 
wise for him to create characters that it would be im¬ 
possible to “cast”—find actors to assume properly. 
He was a workman to whom had been given certain 
materials, and out of these materials he must create his 
structure. 

There was Richard Burbage, for example. In each 
play that he wrote Shakespeare had Rurbage in mind 
as the leading character. We can follow Rurbage in 
role after role, and some have even supposed that it is 
possible to see a development in these roles correspond¬ 
ing to the development of Rurbage, not only mental 
but physical. When Shakespeare wrote Romeo and 
Juliet and The Merchant of Venice, Rurbage was young, 
handsome, and sprightly, fit for a lover’s role. When he 
wrote Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and King 
Lear, Rurbage was more serious and sedate; and in 
physique, too, he had obviously aged a little and was 
perhaps (as Hamlet is described) “fat and scant of 
breath.” The fact that Shakespeare had so great an 
actor to fill the principal role must in itself have in¬ 
spired and encouraged him; it must have been a delight 
for him to produce parts that Rurbage could fill so well, 
particularly as Burbage was his intimate friend and 
boon companion. 


SHAKESPEARE AS A PLAYWRIGHT cxvii 


Others in his company must have provided a similar 
stimulation to Shakespeare to produce the best that was 
in him for stage purposes. We know that Will Kemp 
performed admirably many comic roles, and was suc¬ 
ceeded in Shakespeare’s company by Robert Armin. 
Another actor in this company, Jack Wilson, had an 
excellent voice, and it is likely that it was he for whom 
Shakespeare wrote many of the beautiful songs in his 
plays. 

As a negative influence we may note the fewness of the 
women characters in Shakespeare’s plays as undoubt¬ 
edly due to the lack of women actors. His company 
had only one or two boys, it would seem, who were able 
to fill difficult feminine roles. The doubling of roles may 
also be noticed; that is, the giving of two parts, in 
different sections of the play, to the same actor. In 
Julius Caesar, for example, we notice how most of the 
conspirators drop out of the play — without explana¬ 
tion. Unquestionably the actors who took their roles 
appeared later under other names as soldiers in the 
armies of Brutus and Antony. Csesar and Octavius 
probably were played by the same actor. 

It is because Shakespeare had his actors constantly 
in mind that actors have always been eager to appear 
in his plays. These plays give actors an opportunity to 
show themselves at their best; in striking action, in ef¬ 
fective speeches, and in attractive poses. 

Before leaving the subject of Shakespeare as a drama¬ 
tist it may be well to consider the nature of a play. A 
play is a way of telling a story. Instead of a single 
person’s telling it all, a number of persons pretend to 
be the various characters in the story, and they act it 
out, performing the deeds and speaking the words that 
are supposed to occur in the story. A play when read 


cxviii SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 

is a story entirely in dialogue; when acted it is a story 
in dialogue and action. There is something inside all 
of us that likes a play. Even children of two or three 
enjoy “pretending,” and the best way for all of us to 
play is to take part in a play. 

But a play is a form of art, and like all art it involves 
certain ways of doing things. We can call these ways 
“ rules ” or “ laws ” if we like, although no artist ob¬ 
serves them in the sense in which an automobile driver 
obeys a traffic policeman’s regulations. 

It is better, perhaps, to call these ways “conven¬ 
tions.” A convention means, literally, a coming to¬ 
gether, an agreement. In art it implies an agreement 
between the artist and his audience. The story-telling 
artist says: “If you will allow me to do certain things 
that are, possibly, a little unplausible, even perhaps im¬ 
possible, I’ll tell you a good story.” The audience must, 
in other words, forget for the time being that certain 
things are incredible; it must put itself in a “make- 
believe” mood, just as a child does when it listens to a 
fairy tale. 

One of the greatest of English writers, Samuel Taylor 
Coleridge, summed up this attitude of the audience in a 
striking phrase, “the willing suspension of disbelief.” 

What are some of the conventions that appear in a 
drama? Most remarkable of them is the three-wall 
room. No room you have ever seen on the stage had 
more than three walls; and yet, because of your willing 
suspension of disbelief, you have probably never even 
noticed this fact. 

Another important convention is found in the lan¬ 
guage of the stage. No characters in real life ever talked 
as they do on the stage. Necessarily the dialogue of 
plays is compressed; and it must be snappier, it must 


SHAKESPEARE AS A PLAYWRIGHT 


CX1X 


crackle like fire. Even stage prose is, therefore, a con¬ 
vention; and much more so is verse, such as Shake¬ 
speare’s characters use. But the convention of language 
is still more far-reaching. In Julius Caesar the characters 
are all Romans, whose natural language is Latin. We 
listen to them talking English, and we never pay any 
attention to the fact. Very rarely does the language 
spoken on the stage really represent actual language. 
It is invariably a convention. 

Still another convention can be found in the mere 
fact of acting. An Elizabethan audience would be con¬ 
tent to suspend disbelief and see Burbage now as 
Othello the blackamoor, now as Macbeth the Scotch 
king, now as King Lear the old British monarch. It 
would always be the same man — whom it “made-be- 
lieve” to accept in many roles. 

A whole group of conventions may be found in the 
stage scenery and properties. Now this little patch of 
boards is England, now it is Rome, now Greece, now 
modern Italy. Here is a piece of wood painted green. 
It is a tree. That inner stage is an island in this play; 
it is a cavern in the next play we see. The sword in 
that actor’s hand is a real sword; and when he pierces 
the other actor through and through, the other actor 
really dies. The money passed from hand to hand seems 
genuine gold, even though, at the back of our minds, we 
call it “stage money.” Another convention is that of 
time. The scene closes, the curtain (in our own 
theaters) falls: ten minutes elapse: the play opens 
again, and, strangely enough, a day or a year or even 
ten years have passed. At any rate, we “make-believe” 
so. 

With these conventions in mind, the dramatist pro¬ 
ceeds to build his play. Alexandre Dumas, the famous 


cxx 


SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 


French novelist and playwright, once said that it was 
very easy to write a good play. All one had to do was 
to make the first act clear, the last act short, and all 
the acts interesting. 

But, however excellent this recipe may be, most 
dramatists find it necessary to do a little more. In 
brief, the structure of a play may be summed up as 
follows: The dramatist explains the situation, he com¬ 
plicates the plot, he reaches a climax, he starts un¬ 
winding his plot, he hastens towards his catastrophe or 
conclusion. Sometimes the five acts of a play correspond 
to these five steps in the structure, which are called 
exposition, complication, climax, resolution, catastrophe. 

In studying any play, we notice first of all the cast 
of characters ( dramatis personae, or persons of the 
drama). The page on which this cast is given tells us 
also in what places the action is laid. We study then 
the opening scenes, in which the dramatist makes clear 
what the play is all about. Generally quite early in any 
play a conflict is presented to the audience — between 
two parties, two characters, two ideas; and the play it¬ 
self therefore becomes a battle of wills. 

We analyze the way in which the characters are 
introduced, and how their traits are presented to the 
audience. We find the place where the playwright 
reaches his highest point, or climax, and we study his 
method of leading to a conclusion. Contrasts are 
frequently set forth — in language, for example, verse 
may be used in one place, prose in another; among 
characters, one may be noble, another mean; in sub¬ 
ject matter, the audience may be moved to laughter 
by one- scene, to tears by another. 

In discussing the play as a whole, we may ask where 
the dramatist got his material; and in the case of 


SHAKESPEARE AS A PLAYWRIGHT cxxi 

Julius Caesar an interesting study may be made of 
Plutarch’s Lives of a number of famous Romans, in 
order to see how much Shakespeare kept, what he 
changed, to what degree he invented things of his own. 

We consider the stage settings, and discover whether 
they are many or few, and what effect they have on the 
action. Does the play try to teach a moral or enforce 
a truth, or is its purpose merely to entertain? Is the 
ending satisfactory? Do we remember any of the 
scenes especially, and if so why? Was the language in 
which the play was written such as to please us? 

Brief Quiz 

1. Why is it necessary to study Shakespeare as a drama¬ 
tist? 2. What is the difference between our own stage and 
that of the Elizabethans? 3. Did the lack of scenery have any 
compensations? 4. What were some of the features of an 
Elizabethan play? 5. Did Shakespeare’s company have any 
effect on the writing of his plays? 6. What is the nature 
of any play? 7. What are conventions? 8. What are some of 
the conventions of the drama? 9. What are the five parts of 
a play? 10. What are some of the points to be noticed and 
questions to be asked in studying a play? 

Exercises and Projects 

1. Make out a list of conventions of the drama, including 
those that are given in this chapter. 

2. Make out a similar list of conventions of motion-picture 
plays, noting those that are similar to the conventions of 
spoken drama and those that are different. 

3. Write, in a paragraph, an answer to a person who tells 
you that it is unnecessary ever to See a play of Shakespeare’s 
acted or to act it for oneself, in order to appreciate it. 

4. Were other great dramatists actors or in other ways 
connected with the theater? Make an investigation of the 
following dramatists, and bring to class a report on what you 
discover: Sophocles, Moliere, Ibsen, Goethe, Eugene O’Neill. 


cxxii SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 

5. How many different kinds of plays, both spoken and 
silent, can you think of? Start with tragedy and comedy, 
and see how long a list you can make. (Did you think, for 
example, of Punch-and-Judy shows?) 

6. If you have recently seen some play, apply to it the sug¬ 
gestions and questions on page cxx f., and give your class 
the results of your analysis, in a talk of two or three minutes. 

7. Discuss the following statements, and tell what you 
think of them: 

(1) The elder Booth acted Richard III [a villainous charac¬ 
ter] to such perfection that the audience would hiss. 

(2) To please Charles II the endings of some of Shake¬ 
speare’s tragedies were changed to happy endings. 

(3) Landor asserted that a good tragedy shows us that 
greater*men than ourselves have suffered more severely and 
more unjustly. 

(4) A noted mathematician once saw the great actor Gar¬ 
rick in a performance of Shakespeare. Asked what he thought 
of it, he said: “I only saw a little man strut about the stage 
and repeat 5, 956 words.” 


CHAPTER VI 

SHAKESPEARE’S LANGUAGE AND VERSE 

He has a magic power over words: they come winged at his 
bidding, and seem to know their places. -— William Hazlitt 

Naturally the language that Shakespeare uses is 
somewhat different from that which we, in America, 
use to-day. The more energy a people has, the more 
their language responds to their changing needs and 
alters to fit new circumstances. In any section of the 
United States or Canada, the spoken English is likely 
to be a little different from that spoken in another 
section; and in England itself the man from Devon has 
some trouble in understanding the speech of the man 
from Yorkshire. 

As you read Julius Caesar your attention will be called 
to particular peculiarities and difficulties, but you will 
not find these very numerous, nor are they any real im¬ 
pediment in the understanding of the play. It is suffi¬ 
cient at this time to list some of the chief characteristics 
of Shakespeare’s grammar. 

He often interchanges parts of speech, making an 
adverb of an adjective, a noun of a verb and so on. 
As in older English is often the case, he likes the so-called 
ethical dative; for example, “He plucked me ope his 
doublet,” where the me indicates that the person speak¬ 
ing was present and greatly interested. He uses his 
for its, since its had not yet entered the language. He 
uses mine where we should say my — “mine honest 
neighbors shouted,” for example. He employs hath for 
has and the second person singular forms — thou, thee, 
cxxiii 


cxxiv SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 


thine. He makes use of such forms as an meaning if; 
what for why, whiles for when, and similar older forms. 
He occasionally uses a singular verb with a plural 
subject. He has the double comparative and the double 
superlative — “That was the most unkindest cut of all.” 
He makes greater use of the subjunctive than is cus¬ 
tomary at present — “ ’ Twere best he speak no harm of 
Brutus here.” He employs two negatives to mean one, 
the second being included merely for purposes of em¬ 
phasis — “Nor for yours neither.” 

The last characteristic mentioned reminds us that 
some of the peculiarities of Shakespeare’s grammar still 
survive to-day, in everyday speech, although they have 
gone out of use in written language. Many persons 
continue to use two negatives where one would do, 
and they would doubtless be astonished if they were 
told that they were talking Elizabethan and not twen¬ 
tieth-century English. This fact brings up a curious 
and interesting point. Although what is called standard 
English — that is, the English spoken by educated peo¬ 
ple in any part of the world where English is the native 
language, — no longer employs certain forms that were 
correct in Shakespeare’s time, they still continue to 
be used in the language of the uneducated in several 
sections. 

We may take New England as an example. The 
so-called Yankee dialect goes back, of course, to the 
Puritans, who began coming to this continent in 1620 — 
only four years after the death of Shakespeare. The 
English that they brought with them was probably little, 
if at all, different from that which Shakespeare himself 
spoke. It has consequently happened that a number 
of the older English forms have survived in New Eng¬ 
land, whereas they have gone out of use in England 


SHAKESPEARE’S LANGUAGE cxxv 

itself. It is thus quite possible that, if Shakespeare him¬ 
self were to come to life again, he could understand a 
Yankee more readily than one of his own countrymen. 

In his famous introduction to The Biglow Papers , 
which were written in the Yankee or “Down East’’ 
dialect, James Russell Lowell says: 

“It remains to speak of the Yankee dialect. And, 
first, it may be premised, in a general way, that any one 
much read in the writings of the early colonists need 
not be told that the far greater share of the words and 
phrases now esteemed peculiar to New England, and 
local there, were brought from the mother country. 
A person familiar with the dialect of certain portions 
of Massachusetts will not fail to recognize, in ordinary 
discourse, many words now noted in English vocabu¬ 
laries as archaic, 1 the greater part of which were in 
common use about the time of the King James transla¬ 
tion of the Bible (1611). Shakespeare stands less in 
need of a glossary to most New Englanders than to 
many a native of the Old Country. 

“The English have long complained of us for coining 
new words. Many of those so stigmatized were old ones 
by them forgotten, and all make now an unquestioned 
part of the currency, wherever English is spoken. 
Undoubtedly, we have a right to make new words, as 
they are needed by the fresh aspects under which life 
presents itself here in the New World; and, indeed, 
wherever a language is alive, it grows. It might be 
questioned whether we could not establish a stronger 
title to the ownership of the English tongue than the 
mother-islanders themselves.” 

As to Shakespeare’s language generally, it has a high 
degree of nervous energy. His mind swarms with 

1 Old-fashioned, out-of-date. 


cxxvi SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 


thoughts and pictures, and he bends the language to 
suit his purpose. His vocabulary is great — some 
counts place it at fifteen thousand words, others at 
twenty-four thousand. He uses poetry or prose as the 
occasion demands or to suit the character. Always he 
seeks contrasts. One moment we are listening to the 
rude speech of the common rabble; the next moment we 
are soaring on the wings of poetry with a great mind or 
a noble lover or a majestic king. It has been said of him 
that his phrases have at times the transparent delicacy 
of a cobweb and at other times the massiveness of a 
great stone wall. Now the words flow slowly like thick 
oil; now they take wings and mount like airy butterflies. 
He has the ability to express an immensity of meaning 
in a sentence. Gloster’s eyes have been put out, in 
King Lear, and of him Regan says scornfully, “Let him 
smell his tvay to Dover.” Antony and Cleopatra have 
“kissed away kingdoms.” To express his love for his 
wife Portia, Brutus says that she is 

As dear to me as are the ruddy drops 

That visit my sad heart. 

Shakespeare constantly sees things in images. One 
object suggests another, and nothing in the world is 
single, but it is always joined in kinship of appearance 
or spirit to something else. The morning has feet and 
walks “o’er the dew of yon high eastern hill.” The 
summers are filled with pride. The Romans may weep 
so much that there is a risk that their tears will cause 
the Tiber to overflow. The words of a stammerer come 
from his mouth “as wine out of a narrow-mouthed 
bottle: either too much at once, or none at all.” 
Shakespeare himself (in A Midsummer-Night's Dream) 
describes the way the poet works: 


SHAKESPEARE’S LANGUAGE cxxvii 


The poet’s eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, 

Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven; 

And, as imagination bodies forth 

The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen 

Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing 

A local habitation and a name. 

Shakespeare’s poetry is, of course, his supreme glory. 
As we watch “the proud full sail of his great verse,” 
we realize that no other poet, before or since his day, 
has been able to equal or surpass him. For most part 
he used, as the medium of his poetry, the metrical 
form known as iambic pentameter unrhymed; otherwise 
called blank verse. This verse had been imported into 
English from Italian literature not long before Shake¬ 
speare began to write. It was made more suitable for 
use on the stage by Shakespeare’s great forerunner and 
master — Christopher Marlowe. 

As we examine Shakespeare’s blank verse, we can see 
how gradually it develops and becomes more and more 
flexible. Shakespearean scholars even use this develop¬ 
ment to date Shakespeare’s plays. They can tell by the 
kind of blank verse whether the play was written in the 
earlier, the middle, or the later part of his career. At 
the beginning Shakespeare observed the rules of blank 
verse very carefully; the beats or accents were even, 
the verse regular, and the lines ended generally in such 
a way as to require some mark of punctuation. Later 
he wrote speeches as a whole, instead of paying atten¬ 
tion to the separate lines. The verse is still careful, but 
the ticks of the accents do not come with the regularity 
of a grandfather’s clock. Toward the end, Shakespeare 
allowed the thought to control the meter; often he is 
careless as to the beats, and he is rarely regular in the 
pattern of the line as a whole. Some one has compared 
his early blank verse to a five-stringed lute; his later 


cxxviii SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 


blank verse to an organ of the largest compass. One 
can almost hear him count the syllables in Loves Labor s 
Lost. In The Tempest he speaks blank verse as men 
talk. 


Some Definitions 

Among the important figures of speech are these: 

A simile is a comparison of two objects which resemble each 
other in the point to which attention is called: like or as must 
be used. For example: 

He doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus. 

A metaphor is a comparison with like or as omitted. 

Csesar was a Colossus. 

Personification gives life and personality to inanimate ob¬ 
jects or to abstract qualities. Example: 

O Judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts. 

Synecdoche expresses an idea or a thing by mentioning only 
part of it. Thus ‘Cicero, speaking of bad weather, says: 

“This disturbed sky is not to walk in,” 

the disturbed sky being part of the bad weather. 

Hyperbole is exaggeration not to deceive but for the sake 
of effect and to make a deeper impression. Thus one of the 
characters in Julius Caesar tells a crowd of people to weep so 
profusely that their tears will raise the level of the Tiber River. 

Meter means, literally, measure. As used in versification, it 
refers to the measuring of syllables and of accents. Every 
word of two or more syllables has an accent — that is, one of 
the syllables is stressed more than the others, as la'dy; long 
words may have more than one accent, and an important one- 
syllable word may be stressed. A poet arranges these accents 
in accordance with some plan. In blank verse he places the 
syllables so that an unaccented syllable is followed by an 
accented syllable until there are ten syllables to a line. This 
is shown as follows: 

Each of these five divisions is called a foot; the five feet are 
called pentameter (in Greek penta is five). A foot in which an 


SHAKESPEARE’S LANGUAGE 


CXX1X 


unaccented syllable is followed by an accented syllable is 
called iambic. Here is an iambic pentameter line: 

; > t * t 

And swim | to yon | der point? | Upon | the word 11 

But verse written throughout in this style would become 
very monotonous; one would be inclined to sing-song it. 
To get variety, therefore, certain changes are allowed. 

1. For an iambic foot a trochaic foot (' w ) may be sub¬ 
stituted: ' 

t ft t f 

Under | your tes | ty hu | mor? By | the gods || 

Here, you will notice, the first foot is trochaic. 

2. For an iambic foot an anapestic foot ^ ') may be 
substituted: 

I had ra | ther be | a dog | and bay | the moon || 

Here, you will notice, the first foot is anapestic. 

3. An extra unaccented syllable may be added at the end 
of the line, thus giving the line eleven syllables: 

For cer | tain sums | of gold | which you | denied | me 11 
Here you will notice an extra syllable at the end of the line. 

Brief Quiz 

1. Is all English alike at the present time? 2. What are 
some of the peculiarities of Shakespeare’s grammar? 3. How 
is the Yankee dialect connected with Shakespeare’s English? 

4. What are some of the qualities of Shakespeare’s style? 

5. Does Shakespeare’s mind deal in images? Give examples. 

6. What verse form does Shakespeare use? 7. How does his 
verse help to settle the dates of his plays? 8. Define simile, 
metaphor, personification, synecdoche, hyperbole. 9. What 
is meter? 10. What variations are often found in blank verse? 

Exercises and Projects 

1. Read any page of Julius Csesar, and make a list of all the 
words you find on the page. How many are unfamiliar to you? 

2. Read any ten lines of Julius Csesar aloud, marking the 
accents by stressing them slightly with your voice. 1 

i Also see exercises on pages 133 f. 



CHAPTER VII 

JULIUS CiESAR AS A PLAY * 

This therefore, is the praise of Shakespeare, that his 
drama is the mirror of life. — Dr. Samuel Johnson 

The stage is Shakespeare’s home. — Charles Lamb 

“It is afternoon, a little before three o’clock. Whole 
fleets of wherries are crossing the Thames, picking their 
way among the swans and the other boats, to land their 
passengers on the south bank of the river. Skiff after 
skiff puts forth from the Blackfriars stairs, full of theater¬ 
goers who have delayed a little too long over their dinner 
and are afraid of being too late; for the flag waving over 
the Globe Theater announces that there is a play to-day. 
The bills upon the street-posts have informed the public 
that Shakespeare’s Julias Caesar is to be presented, and 
the play draws a full house. People pay their sixpences 
and enter; the balconies and the pit are filled. Dis¬ 
tinguished and specially favored spectators take their 
seats on the stage. Then sound the first, the second, 
and the third trumpet-blasts. Enter the tribunes 
Flavius and Marullus; they scold the rabble and 
drive them home because they are loafing about on a 
week-day without their working-clothes and tools — 
disobeying a London police regulation which the public 
finds so natural that they {and the poet) can conceive it 
in force in ancient Rome. At first the audience is some¬ 
what restless. The groundlings talk in undertones as 
they light their pipes. But the Second Citizen speaks 
the name of Caesar. There are cries of 4 Hush! Hush! ’ and 

1 It is suggested that this chapter be read after the plav itself has 
been studied. 


cxxx 


JULIUS CAESAR AS A PLAY cxxxi 


the progress of the play is followed with eager attrition. 

Thus the noted critic and biographer of Shakespeare, 
George Brandes, describes an early performance ol 
Shakespeare’s play. From the very beginning it w^s 
greatly applauded, and many scenes in it soon became 
famous. It was frequently performed, and after 
Shakespeare’s death it was often revived. In it many 
great actors have appeared. 

Julius Caesar is a tragedy; that is, it ends unhappily. 
Undoubtedly Shakespeare intended Brutus to be the 
hero, and it is the flaws in his character that bring about 
the downfall of the conspirators. On the other hand, 
it is possible to turn the play upside down, as it were, 
and regard it from the point of view of Caesar and his 
followers, and for them the play ends in a triumph. 
If, then, one were to represent the action of the play 
by means of two diagonal lines indicating the fortunes 
of the conspirators, it would look like this: 


Brutus’ Speech 

Conspirators Seize Rome f\ Antony s Speech 
Caesar is Assassinated 


Caesar is Persuaded to Go 
to the Capitol 


Plans to Assassinate 
Caesar are Made 


Brutus Joins Conspir¬ 
acy 


Casca Joins Com 
pany 

Caesar’s Triumph 



Conspirators are Driven from 
Borne 


Antony and Octavius Form 
an Alliance 

Brutus and Cassius 
Quarrel 

Ghost of Caesar Ap¬ 
pears ■ 

Conspirators are 
Defeated at Philippi 

Death of Cassius 
and Brutus 


Brutus Loses 


cxxxii SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 


On the, other hand, a similar diagram indicating the 
fortunes of the Caesarites would look like this: 


The Caesarites Win 


O aesar's Triumph 

Casca Joins Con 
spiracy 

Brutus Joins Conspir 
acy 


Plans to Assassinate 
Caesar are made 

Caesar is Persuaded to Go 
to the Capitol 


Caesar is Assassinated 



Death of Cassius 
and Brutus 

Conspirators are 
Defeated at Philippi 


Ghost of Caesar Ap¬ 
pears 


Brutus and Cassius 
Quarrel 

Antony and Octavius Form 
an Alliance 


Conspirators are Driven from 
Rome 


Conspirators Seize Rome \/ Antony's Speech 
Brutus' Speech 


Perhaps it is because of the dual nature of the plot 
of the play that it offers so many rich parts to actors. 
Brutus is of course the chief role, but often other 
characters in the play have attracted great actors. 
Macready at times preferred the role of Cassius to that 
of Brutus. Barry and Beerbohm Tree took the part of 
Antony, as did Faversham and Forrest, and Edwin 
Booth alternated the roles of Cassius and of Brutus. 
Even the part of Caesar, despite the fact that it stops 
midway in the play, has proved attractive. Incidentally, 
it is likely that in Shakespeare’s company (and perhaps 
in others as well) the actor who took the part of Caesar 
also took the part of Octavius; that is, he “doubled” 
in these roles, to save the money of the producer. 

As has already been stated, a play always begins with 


JULIUS CiESAR AS A PLAY cxxxiii 

an explanation; thereafter, the plot is carefully com¬ 
plicated or wound up; a climax is reached; the plot is 
unwound; then comes the conclusion or catastrophe. 
In a tragedy the action in general follows a course 
opposite to that in a comedy. In a comedy the fortunes 
of the hero sink lower and lower up to the moment of 
the climax; thereafter they improve until, at the end, 
he is quite happy and successful. In a tragedy, on the 
contrary, the hero wins one success after another until 
the climax is reached; thereafter his fortunes begin to 
fall until, at the end, he dies. A large capital V shows 
the course of the plot of a comedy; a V inverted shows 
the course of the plot of a tragedy. 


Climax 



But to allow fortunes merely to rise and sink or sink 
and rise is a little too simple for both dramatist and 
audience. The playwright, therefore, generally intro¬ 
duces the element of suspense; that is, while the fortunes 


cxxxiv SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 


of the hero are rising, something happens and for a little 
while they sink; or while they are falling, something 
happens and, for a time at least, they rise. In Julias 
Caesar, for example, Brutus’s fortunes rise steadily, and 
all seems going well with the conspiracy. Then Caesar 

Comedy 



makes up his mind that he will not go to the Capitol — 
and the success of the conspiracy is, for a time, in doubt. 
Similarly, in the latter part of the play, the quarrel 
of Brutus and Cassius seems disastrous to the con¬ 
spiracy, but the reconciliation of the two men for a time 
makes it appear possible that perhaps Brutus may still 
be saved. 

Why has Julius Caesar so greatly attracted audiences? 
As Brander Matthews points out, the play has a vast 
theme and a world-wide background. The characters 
are strong-willed and know their own minds. There are 
many powerful speeches for the actors to declaim. 


JULIUS CAESAR AS A PLAY 


cxxxv 


One striking episode succeeds another. The play is also 
impressive as spectacle, with its pictures of the games 
at Lupercal, the storm at night, the open assassination, 
the funeral, the riot, the appearance of the Ghost, the 
final battle. The play shows a dark conspiracy succeed¬ 
ing for a time and then overwhelmed by the conse¬ 
quences of its success. The plot has the elements of 
contrast, conflict, and suspense. The drama deals with 
the noble passion of ambition, and it takes its name from 
one of the greatest men that ever lived. The course of 
the action vividly teaches a lesson — the need of a 
strong hand in dealing with the unstable rabble. 

Naturally, in the long stage history of Julius Caesar, 
certain ways of presenting the scenes have become tra¬ 
ditional, and the “business” (that is, the gestures, 
motions, intonations, and the like) associated with the 
roles have been handed down from one generation of 
actors to the next. 

Through the kindness of Mr. Robert B. Mantell, who 
devoted a long career largely to the intelligent inter¬ 
pretation of Shakespeare before innumerable audiences, 
the prompt-book of the great actor Edwin Booth has 
been made available for the readers of this book. Mr. 
Mantell himself, incidentally, used this prompt-book 
as his own stage guide, making here and there certain 
variations that seem likely to produce more striking 
results. 

A page of this prompt-book, as here shown, reveals the 
minuteness with which professional actors study the 
production of Julius Caesar. To save expense, the part 
of the tribunes was suppressed, and for them Casca and 
Trebonius were substituted. Moreover, Scenes 1 and 2 
of Act I were merged (as was probably the case in 
Shakespeare’s time). Scene 3 of the same act was per- 


cxxxvi SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 

formed with the same scenery as the preceding scenes. 
In the orchard scene of Act II there are constant vivid 
flashes of lightning until Brutus has read his letter. 



From Edwin Booth’s Prompt-Book Showing Scene 
before Assassination 


In Mr. Mantell’s production Portia was about to leave 
Brutus, but as she turned for a moment at the exit, he 
joined her again and spoke the lines: 

O ye gods! 

Render me worthy of this noble wife! 

The entire conversation with Ligarius in this scene 
was omitted. 


































JULIUS CAESAR AS A PLAY cxxxvii 


In the powerful assassination scene the position of 
every actor is carefully defined beforehand, so that 
there may be no hitch in the action; the business of 
each actor — the dagger strokes of the conspirators 
against the body of Caesar, for example — are planned 
in advance. The apparent confusion of the conspirators, 
as they stab Caesar, is therefore not real; every move 
has been outlined by the director of the play. When 
Antony enters, the grouping is equally careful. Here is 
the direction in the Booth prompt-book for Antony’s 
shaking hands with the conspirators: 

“Antony advances to footlights, back to audience. 
He then advances to shake hands with Brutus, then 
makes a semicircular advance to Cassius, offering his 
hand. Cassius gives his slowly and coldly. Antony 
presses it and lets it drop. He turns round from him 
facing audience, then up to others.” 

No scene in the play offers greater difficulties and 
greater opportunities to the stage manager than that 
in which the mob listens to the speeches of Brutus and 
Antony. Rarely can a company carry with it enough 
actors to furnish a mob that will move in unruly 
masses to and fro over the stage, howl and applaud 
vociferously, and give the impression of turbulent 
fickleness that Shakespeare desires to convey. Such 
a scene can only be presented by a number of specially 
hired supernumeraries (“supers”), led usually by the 
trained actors who take the parts of the First and 
Second Commoners in the opening scene of the play. 
A good mob makes the fortune of the Forum scene; 
a poor one ruins it. 

Another danger in this same scene arises from the 
fact that members of the mob by their antics and too 
emphatic business may distract attention from Brutus 


cxxxviii SHAKESPEARE AND HIS TIMES 

and Antony. To avoid this, Mr. Mantell, taking a 
hint from a French production, placed an ornamental 
balustrade along the front of the stage. Back of this was 
seen merely the heads and shoulders of the members 
of the mob; in the rear rose the rostrum, where Brutus 
and Antony spoke. This device largely minimized the 
possibility that the speeches of these two actors would 
not receive the attention they deserve. 

The best productions speed the action up as much as 
possible. To complete the performance within a 
reasonable time, it is necessary often to make cuts 
in the text or to transpose parts from one place to 
another. But the conscientious manager makes as few 
changes in Shakespeare as he can. 

Brief Quiz 

1. Give some details of a production in Shakespeare’s time. 
2. Has Julius Caesar proved popular? 3. Why may the play 
be called a tragedy? 4. In what two ways may the action 
of the play be represented? 5. Does the play offer good roles 
for actors? Illustrate. 6. How does a tragedy differ from a 
comedy? What diagrams may represent each form of play? 
7. Why is the element of suspense used in a play? How is it 
represented in a diagram ? 8. Why has Jul ius Caesar so greatly 
attracted audiences? 9. Do actors invent their own “busi¬ 
ness” for the play? 10. Give some examples of directions for 
the actors taken from the productions of Edwin Booth and 
Robert B. Mantell. 

Exercises and Projects 

1. Write a theme describing a performance of Julius Caesar 
that you attended. Discuss it from the standpoint of the thea¬ 
ter; that is, tell about the scenery, the properties used on the 
stage, the business of the actors, the acting itself. 

2. Imagine Shakespeare himself witnessing the first per¬ 
formance of Julius Caesar, and write a little monologue that 


JULIUS CiESAR AS A PLAY cxxxix 

he holds with a friend back of the scenes. He comments on 
things that he likes and things that he doesn’t like. He speaks 
of his purpose in writing certain lines and scenes or in molding 
certain characters. 

3. Bring to class material for a brief talk on one of the 
actors mentioned on page cxxii. 

4. What actor of the present time should you like to see 
enact one of the roles in Julius Caesar? Tell what role you 
would assign him, with reasons. 

(For additional exercises on Julius Caesar as a play, see 
pages 141 f.) 


A Catechism on Julius Caesar 

1. Q. When was the play written? A. Probably around 
1599-1601. 

2. Q. Where did Shakespeare get the material for his plot? 
A. From Plutarch’s Lives of Caesar, of Brutus, and of Mark 
Antony, as given in Sir Thomas North’s translation; possibly 
from an older play dealing with Caesar. 

3. Q. Who is the hero of the play? A. Brutus, according 
to the general judgment of critics and actors. 

4. Q. What are the principal roles, according to the lines 
assigned for speaking? A. Mark Antony, 327 lines; Brutus, 
727 lines; Caesar, 154 lines; and Cassius, 507 lines. 

5. Q. What actor first created the role of Brutus? 
A. Richard Burbage. 

6. Q. What is the historic period during which the action 
of the play takes place? A. The middle of February, 44 b.c., 
when the regal crown was offered Caesar at the feast of the 
Lupercal, to the battle of Philippi, 42 b.c. 

7. Q. When was Caesar assassinated? A. March 15, 
44 b.c. 

8. Q. What are the most famous scenes in the play? 
A. The death of Caesar, the speeches over Caesar’s body, the 
quarrel between Brutus and Cassius. 

9. Q. What is the total number of lines in the play? How 
many are in prose? A. 2440 lines, of which 165 are in prose. 

10. Q. What sequel to the play did Shakespeare write? 
A. Anlony and Cleopatra . 


































































































































































THE TRAGEDY OF JULIUS CESAR 


DRAMATIS PERSONS 


Julius Caesar 
Octavius CLesar "i 

Marcus Antonius l Triumvirs after the death of Julius Caesar 
M. jEmilius Lepidus J 
Cicero 

Senators 


Conspirators against Julius Caesar 


.Tribunes 

A Teacher of Rhetoric 


Publius 
Popilius Lena 
Marcus Brutus 
Cassius 
Casca 
Trebonius 
Ligarius 
Decius Brutus 
Metellus Cimber 
C lNNA 

Flavius and Marullus 
Artemidorus of Cnidos 
A Soothsayer 

Cinna. A Poet 

Another Poet 
Lucilius 
Titinius 
Messala 
Young Cato 
Volumnius 
Varro 
Clitus 
Claudius 
Strato 
Lucius 
Dardanius j 

Pindarus . Servant to Cassius 

Calpurnia. Wife to Caesar 

Portia. Wife to Brutus 

Senators, Citizens, Guards, Attendants, etc. 

SCENE — Rome; the neighborhood of Sardis ; the 
neighborhood of Philippi. 


Friends to Brutus and Cassius 


Servants to Brutus 














Julius Caesar 


ACT I 

Scene I — Rome. A street 

Enter Flavius, Marullus, and certain Commoners 

Flav. Hence! home, you idle creatures, get you 
home: 

Is this a holiday? what! know you not, 

Being mechanical, you ought not walk 
Upon a labouring day without the sign 
Of your profession? Speak, what trade art thou? 
First Com. Why, sir, a carpenter. 

Mar. Where is thy leather apron and thy rule? 
What dost thou with thy best apparel on? 

You, sir, what trade are you? 

Sec. Com. Truly, sir, in respect of a fine work¬ 
man, I am but, as you would say, a cobbler. 

Mar. But what trade art thou? answer me 
directly. 

Sec. Com. A trade, sir, that, I hope, I may use 
with a safe conscience; which is, indeed, sir, a 
mender of bad soles. 

Mar. What trade, thou knave? thou naughty 
knave, what trade? 

Sec. Com. Nay, I beseech you, sir, be not out 
with me: yet, if you be out, sir, I can mend you. 


2 JULIUS CiESAR [Act One 

Mar. What meanest thou by that? mend me, 
thou saucy fellow! 

Sec. Com. Why, sir, cobble you. 

Flav. Thou art a cobbler, art thou? 

Sec. Com. Truly, sir, all that I live by is with the 
awl: I meddle with no tradesman’s matters, nor 
women’s matters, but with awl. am, indeed, sir, 
a surgeon to old shoes; when thfe$ are in great dan¬ 
ger, I recover them. As proper men as ever trod 
upon'neat’s leather have gone upon my handiwork. 

Flav. But wherefore art not in thy shop to-day? 
Why dost thou lead these men about the streets? 

Sec. Com. Truly, sir, to wear out their shoes, 
to get myself into more work. But, indeed, sir, we 
make holiday, to see Caesar and to rejoice in his 
triumph. 

Mar. Wherefore rejoice? What conquest brings 
he home? 

What tributaries follow him to Rome, 

To grace in captive bonds his chariot-wheels? 

You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless 
things! 

O you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome, 

Knew you not Pompey? Many a time and oft 
Have you climb’d up to walls and battlements. 

To towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops, 

Your infants in your arms, and there have sat 
The live-long day, with patient expectation, 

To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome: 1 
And when you saw his chariot but appear. 

Have you not made an universal shout, 

That Tiber trembled underneath her banks, 

1 See passage, page 107 f. 


Sceke One] JULIUS CZESAR 3 

To hear the replication of your sounds 
Made in her concave shores? 

And do you now put on your best attire? 

And do you now cull out a holiday? 

And do you now strew flowers in his way 
That conies in triumph over Pompey’s blood? 

Be gone! 

Run to your houses, fall upon your knees. 

Pray to the gods to intermit the plague 
That needs must light on this ingratitude. 

Flav. Go, go, good countrymen, and, for this 
fault. 

Assemble all the poor men of your sort; 

Draw them to Tiber banks, and weep your tears 
Into the channel, till the lowest stream 
Do kiss the most exalted shores of all. 

[Exeunt all the Commoners, 
See, whether their basest metal be not moved; 
They vanish tongue-tied in their guiltiness. 

Go you down that way towards the Capitol; 

This way will I: disrobe the images, 

If you do find them deck’d with ceremonies. 

Mar. May we do so? 

You know it is the feast of Lupercal. 

Flav. It is no matter; let no images 
Be hung with Csesar’s trophies. I’ll about. 

And drive away the vulgar from the streets: 

So do you too, where you perceive them thick. 
These growing feathers pluck’d from Csesar’s wing 
Will make him fly an ordinary pitch, 

Who else would soar above the view of men 
And keep us all in servile fearfulness. [ Exeunt . 


4 


JULIUS CAESAR 


[Act One 


Scene II — A public place 

Flourish. Enter Caesar; Antony, for the course ; Cal¬ 
purnia, Portia, Decius, Cicero, Brutus, Cassius, 
and Casca; a great crowd following , among them a 
Soothsayer 

Coes. Calpurnia! 

Casca. q Peace, ho! Caesar speaks. 

Cws. Calpurnia! 

Cal. Here, my lord. 

Coes. Stand you directly in Antonius’ way. 

When he doth run his course. Antonius! 

Ant. Caesar, my lord? 

Coes. Forget not, in your speed, Antonius, 

To touch Calpurnia; for our elders say. 

The barren, touched in this holy chase, 

Shake off their sterile curse. 

Ant. I shall remember: 

When Caesar says “do this,” it is perform’d. 

Coes. Set on; and leave no ceremony out. 

[Flourish. 

Sooth. Caesar! 

Coes. Ha! who calls? 

Casca. Bid every noise be still: peace yet 
again! 

Coes. Who is it in the press that calls on me? 

I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music, 

Cry “Caesar!” Speak; Caesar is turn’d to hear. 
Sooth. Beware the ides of March. 

C(bs. What man is that? 

Bru. A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of 
March. 


JULIUS CiESAR 


Scene Two 


5 


Cobs. Set him before me; let me see his face. 20 

Cas. Fellow, come from the throng; look upon 
Csesar. 

Cobs. What say’st thou to me now? speak once 
again. 

Sooth. Beware the ides of March. 

Cobs. He is a dreamer; let us leave him: pass. 

[Sennet. Exeunt all except Brutus and Cassius. 

Cas. Will you go see the order of the course? 

Bru. Not I. 

Cas. I pray you, do. 

Bru. I am not gamesome: I do lack some part 
Of that quick spirit that is in Antony. 

Let me not hinder, Cassius, your desires; 30 

I ’ll leave you. 

Cas. Brutus, I do observe you now: of late 
I have not from your eyes that gentleness 
And show of love as I was wont to have: 

You bear too stubborn and too strange a hand 
Over your friend that loves you. 

Bru. Cassius, 

Be not deceived: if I have veil’d my look, 

I turn the trouble of my countenance 

Merely upon myself. Vexed I am 

Of late with passions of some difference, *c 

Conceptions only proper to myself, 

Which give some soil perhaps to my behaviours; 

But let not therefore my good friends be grieved — 
Among which number, Cassius, be you one — 

Nor construe any further my neglect, 

Than that poor Brutus, with himself at war, 

Forgets the shows of love to other men. 


G JULIUS OESAR [Act One 

Cas. Then, Brutus, I have much mistook your 
passion; 

By mealns whereof this breast of mine hath buried 
Thoughts of great value, worthy cogitations. 

Tell me, good Brutus, can you see your face? 

Bru. No, Cassius; for the eye sees not itself, 
But by reflection, by some other things. 

Cas. ’T is just: 

And it is very much lamented, Brutus, 

That you have no such mirrors as will turn 
Your hidden worthiness into your eye, 

That you might see your shadow. I have heard. 
Where many of the best respect in Rome, 

Except immortal Caesar, speaking of Brutus 
And groaning underneath this age’s yoke, 

Have wish’d that noble Brutus had his eyes. 

Bru. Into what dangers would you lead me, 
Cassius, 

That you would have me seek into myself 
For that which is not in me? 

Cas. Therefore, good Brutus, be prepared to hear: 
And since you know you cannot see yourself 
So well as by reflection, I, your glass, 

Will modestly discover to yourself 

That of yourself which you yet know not of. 

And be not jealous on me, gentle Brutus: 

Were I a common laugher, or did use 
To stale with ordinary oaths my love 
To every new protester; if you know 
That I do fawn on men and hug them hard 
And after scandal them, or if you know 
That I profess myself in banqueting 


Scene Two] JULIUS OESAR 7 

To all the rout, then hold me dangerous. 

[Flourish, and shout. 
Bru. What means this shouting? I do fear, the 
people 

Choose Caesar for their king. 

Cas. Ay, do you fear it? so 

Then must I think you would not have it so. 

Bru. I would not, Cassius; yet I love him 
well. 

But wherefore do you hold me here so long? 

What is it that you would impart to me? 

If it be aught toward the general good. 

Set honour in one eye and death i’ the other, 

And I will look on both indifferently: 

For let the gods so speed me as I love 
The name of honour more than I fear death. 

Cas. I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus, 90 
As well as I do know your outward favour. 

Well, honour is the subject of my story. 

I cannot tell what you and other men 
Think of this life; but, for my single self, 

I had as lief not be as live to be 
In awe of such a thing as I myself. 

I was born free as Caesar; so were you: 

We both have fed as well, and we can both 
Endure the winter’s cold as well as he: 

For once, upon a raw and gusty day, 100 

The troubled Tiber chafing with her shores, 

Caesar said to me “Darest thou, Cassius, now 
Leap in with me into this angry flood, 

And swim to yonder point?” Upon the word. 
Accoutred as I was, I plunged in 


8 


JULIUS CAESAR 


[Act One 


And bade him follow; so indeed he did. 

The torrent roar’d, and we did buffet it 
With lusty sinews, throwing it aside 
And stemming it with hearts of controversy; 

But ere we could arrive the point proposed, 

Caesar cried, “Help me, Cassius, or I sink!” 

I, as ^Eneas, our great ancestor, 

Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder 
The old Anchises bear, so from the waves of Tiber 
Did I the tired Caesar. And this man 
Is now become a god, and Cassius is 
A wretched creature and must bend his body, 

If Caesar carelessly but nod on him. 

He had a fever when he was in Spain, 

And when the fit was on him, I did mark 
How he did shake: ’t is true, this god did shake: 

His coward lips did from their colour fly, 

And that same eye whose bend doth awe the world 
Did lose his lustre: I did hear him groan: 

Ay, and that tongue of his that bade the Romans 
Mark him and write his speeches in their books, 
Alas, it cried “Give me some drink, Titinius,” 

As a sick girl. Ye gods, it doth amaze me 

A man of such a feeble temper should 

So get the start of the majestic world 

And bear the palm alone. [Shout. Flourish. 

Bru. Another general shout! 

I do believe that these applauses are 
For some new honours that are heap’d on Csesar. 
Cas. Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow- 
world 

Like a Colossus, 1 and we petty men 

1 See note, page 109. 


JULIUS CiESAR 


9 


Scene Two] 

Walk under his huge legs and peep about 
To find ourselves dishonourable graves. 

Men at some time are masters of their fates: 

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, 140 

But in ourselves, that we are underlings. 

Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that “ Caesar ” ? 
Why should that name be sounded more than yours? 
Write them together, yours is as fair a name; 

Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well; 

Weigh them, it is as heavy; conjure with ’em, 

Brutus will start a spirit as soon as C aesar. [S hout . Flourish . 
Now, in the names of all the gods at once, 

Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed. 

That he is grown so great? Age, thou art shamed! 150 
Borne, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods! 

When went there by an age, since the great flood. 

But it was famed with more than with one man? 
When could they say till now, that talk’d of Rome, 
That her wide walls encompass’d but one man? 

Now is it Rome indeed and room enough. 

When there is in it but one only man. 

O, you and I have heard our fathers say, 

There was a Brutus once that would have brook’d 
The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome ieo 

As easily as a king. 

Bru. That you do love me, I am nothing jealous; 
What you would work me to, I have some aim: 

How I have thought of this and of these times, 

I shall recount hereafter; for this present, 

I would not, so with love I might entreat you. 

Be any further moved. What you have said 
I will consider; what you have to say 


JULIUS CiESAR 


[Act One 


16 

I will with patience hear, and find a time 

Both meet to hear and answer such high things. 170 

Till then, my noble friend, chew upon this: 

Brutus had rather be a villager 
Than to repute himself a son of Rome 
Under these hard conditions as this time 
Is like to lay upon us. 

Cas. I am glad that my weak words 
Have struck but thus much show of fire from 
Brutus. 

Bru. The games are done and Caesar is returning. 
Cas. As they pass by, pluck Casca by the sleeve; 
And he will, after his sour fashion, tell you iso 

What hath proceeded worthy note to-day. 

Re-enter (Lesar and his Train 

Bru. I will do so. But, look you, Cassius, 

The angry spot doth glow on Caesar’s brow, 

And all the rest look like a chidden train: 

Calpurnia’s cheek is pale; and Cicero 
Looks with such ferret and such fiery eyes 
As we have seen him in the Capitol, 

Being cross’d in conference by some senators. 

Cas. Casca will tell us what the matter is. 

Coes. Antonius! 190 

Ant. Caesar? 

Coes. Let me have men about me that are fat: 
Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o’ nights: 

Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; 

He thinks too much: such men are dangerous. 

Ant. Fear him not, Caesar; he’s not dangerous* 

He is a noble Roman and well given. 


Scene Two] JULIUS CUESAR 11 

Coes. Would he were fatter! But I fear him not: 
Yet if my name were liable to fear, 

I do not know the man I should avoid 200 

So soon as that spare Cassius. He reads much; 

He is a great observer and he looks 

Quite through the deeds of men; he loves no plays. 

As thou dost, Antony; he hears no music; 

Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort 
As if he mock’d himself and scorn’d his spirit 
That could be moved to smile at any thing. 

Such men as he be never at heart’s ease 
Whiles they behold a greater than themselves, 

And therefore are they very dangerous. 210 

I rather tell thee what is to be fear’d 
Than what I fear; for always I am Caesar. 

Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf, 

And tell me truly what thou think’st of him. 

[Sennet. Exeunt Coesar and all his 
Train , but Casca. 
Casca. You pull’d me by the cloak; would you 
speak with me? 

Bru. Ay, Casca; tell us what hath chanced 
to-day, 

That Caesar looks so sad. 

Casca. Why, you were with him, were you not? 
Bru. I should not then ask Casca what had 
chanced. 

Casca. Why, there was a crown offered him: 22c 
and being offered him, he put it by with the back of 
his hand, thus; and then the people fell a-shouting. 
Bru. What was the second noise for? 

Casca. Why, for that too. 


12 JULIUS CiESAR [Act One 

Cas. They shouted thrice: what was the last 
cry for? 

Casca. Why, for that too. 

Bru. Was the crown offered him thrice? 

Casca. Ay, marry, was’t, and he put it by thrice, 
every time gentler than other, and at every putting- 230 
by mine honest neighbours shouted. 

Cas. Who offered him the crown? 

Casca. Why, Antony. 

Bru. Tell us the manner of it, gentle Casca. 

Casca. I can as well be hanged as tell the manner 
of it: it was mere foolery; I did not mark it. I saw 
Mark Antony offer him a crown; — yet’t was not 
a crown neither, *t was one of these coronets; — and, 
as I told you, he put it by once: but, for all that, to 
my thinking, he would fain have had it. Then he 240 
offered it to him again; then he put it by again: 
but, to my thinking, he was very loath to lay his 
fingers off it. And then he offered it the third time; 
he put it the third time by: and still as he refused it, 
the rabblement hooted and clapped their chapped 
hands and threw up their sweaty night-caps and 
uttered such a deal of stinking breath because 
Caesar refused the crown that it had almost choked 
Caesar; for he swounded and fell down at it: and 
for mine own part, I durst not laugh, for fear of 250 
opening my lips and receiving the bad air. 

Cas. But, soft, I pray you: what, did Caesar 
swound? 

Casca. He fell down in the market-place, and 
foamed at mouth, and was speechless. 

Bru. ’T is very like: he hath the falling sickness. 


Scene Two] 


JULIUS CUES A R 


13 


Cas. No, Csesar hath it not; but you and I 
And honest Casca, we have the falling sickness. 

Casca. I know not what you mean by that; but, 

I am sure, Csesar fell down. If the tag-rag people 260 
did not clap him and hiss him, according as he pleased 
and displeased them, as they use to do the players 
in the theatre, I am no true man. 

Bru. What said he when he came unto himself? 

Casca. Marry, before he fell down, when he per¬ 
ceived the common herd was glad he refused the 
crown, he plucked me ope his doublet and offered 
them his throat to cut. An I had been a man of any 
occupation, if I would not have taken him at a word, 

I would I might go to hell among the rogues. And 270 
so he fell. When he came to himself again, he said, 

If he had done or said any thing amiss, he desired 
their worships to think it was his infirmity. Three 
or four wenches, where I stood, cried “Alas, good 
soul!” and forgave him with all their hearts: but 
there’s no heed to be taken of them; if Csesar had 
stabbed their mothers, they would have done no 
less. 

Bru. And after that, he came, thus sad, away? 

Casca. Ay. 280 

Cas. Did Cicero say any thing? 

Casca. Ay, he spoke Greek. 

Cas. To what effect? 

Casca. Nay, an I tell you that, I ’ll ne’er look you 
i’ the face again: but those that understood him 
smiled at one another and shook their heads; but, for 
mine own part, it was Greek to me. I could tell you 
more news too: Marullus and Flavius, for pulling 


14 


JULIUS CESAR 


[Act One 


scarfs off Caesar’s images, are put to silence. Fare 
you well. There was more foolery yet, if I could 29c 
remember it. 

Cas. Will you sup with me to-night, Casca? 

Casca. No, I am promised forth. 

Cas. Will you dine with me to-morrow? 

Casca. Ay, if I be alive and your mind hold and 
your dinner worth the eating. 

Cas. Good: I will expect you. 

Casca. Do so. Farewell, both. [Exit. 

Bru. What a blunt fellow is this grown to be! 

He was quick mettle when he went to school. 300 

Cas. So is he now in execution 
Of any bold or noble enterprise, 

However he puts on this tardy form. 

This rudeness is a sauce to his good wit, 

Which gives men stomach to digest his words 
With better appetite. 

Bru. And so it is. For this time I will leave 
you: 

To-morrow, if you please to speak with me, 

I will come home to you; or, if you will, 

Come home to me, and I will wait for you. 31c 

Cas. I will do so: till then, think of the world. 

[Exit Brutus. 

Well, Brutus, thou art noble; yet, I see. 

Thy honourable metal may be wrought 
From that it is disposed: therefore it is meet 
That noble minds keep ever with their likes; 

For who so firm that cannot be seduced? 

Csesar doth bear me hard; but he loves Brutus: 

If I were Brutus now and he were Cassius, 


Scene Three] JULIUS CiESAR. 


15 


He should not humour me. I will this night, 

In several hands, in at his windows throw, 

As if they came from several citizens, 

Writings all tending to the great opinion 
That Rome holds of his name; wherein obscurely 
Csesar’s ambition shall be glanced at: 

And after this let Caesar seat him sure; 

For we will shake him, or worse days endure. [Exit. 

Scene III — The same. A street 

Thunder and lightning. Enter from opposite sides, Casca, 
with his sword drawn, and Cicero 

Cic. Good even, Casca: brought you Caesar 
home? 

Why are you breathless? and why stare you so? 
Casca. Are not you moved, when all the sway 
of earth 

Shakes like a thing unfirm? O Cicero, 

I have seen tempests, when the scolding winds 
Have rived the knotty oaks, and I have seen 
The ambitious ocean swell and rage and foam. 

To be exalted with the threatening clouds: 

But never till to-night, never till now, 

Did I go through a tempest dropping fire. 

Either there is a civil strife in heaven, 

Or else the world, too saucy with the gods, 

Incenses them to send destruction. 

Cic. Why, saw you any thing more wonderful? 
Casca. A common slave — you know him well 
by sight — 

Held up his left hand, which did flame and burn 


16 


JULIUS UESAR 


[Act One 


Like twenty torches join’d, and yet his hand, 

Not sensible of fire, remain’d unscorch’d. 

Besides — I ha’ not since put up my sword — 

Against the Capitol I met a lion, 20 

Who glared upon me, and went surly by, 

Without annoying me: and there were drawn 
Upon a heap a hundred ghastly women, 

Transformed with their fear; who swore they saw 
Men all in fire walk up and down the streets. 

And yesterday the bird of night did sit 
Even at noon-day upon the market-place. 

Hooting and shrieking. When these prodigies 

Do so conjointly meet, let not men say 

“These are their reasons; they are natural;” 30 

For, I believe, they are portentous things 

Unto the climate that they point upon. 

Cic. Indeed, it is a strange-disposed time: 

But men may construe things after their fashion. 

Clean from the purpose of the things themselves. 
Comes Caesar to the Capitol to-morrow? 

Casca. He doth; for he did bid Antonius 
Send word to you he would be there to-morrow. 

Cic. Good night then, Casca: this disturbed sky 
Is not to walk in. 

Casca. Farewell, Cicero. [Exit Cicero. 40 

Enter Cassius 

Cas. Who’s there? 

Casca. A Roman. 

Cas. Casca, by your voice. 

Casca. Your ear is good. Cassius, what night 
is this! 


Scene Three] 


JULIUS CiESAR 


17 


Cas. A very pleasing night to honest men. 

Casca. Who ever knew the heavens menace so? 
Cas. Those that have known the earth so full 
of faults. 

For my part, I have walk’d about the streets. 
Submitting me unto the perilous night, 

And, thus unbraced, Casca, as you see. 

Have bared my bosom to the thunder-stone; 

And when the cross-blue lightning seem’d to open so 
The breast of heaven, I did present myself 
Even in the aim and very flash of it. 

Casca. But wherefore did you so much tempt 
the heavens? 

It is the part of men to fear and tremble. 

When the most mighty gods by tokens send 
Such dreadful heralds to astonish us. 

Cas. You are dull, Casca, and those sparks of life 
That should be in a Roman you do want, 

Or else you use not. You look pale and gaze 

And put on fear and cast yourself in wonder, 60 

To see the strange impatience of the heavens: 

But if you would consider the true cause 
Why all these fires, why all these gliding ghosts. 

Why birds and beasts from quality and kind, 

Why old men fool and children calculate, 

Why all these things change from their ordinance 
Their natures and preformed faculties 
To monstrous quality, — why, you shall find 
That heaven hath infused them with these spirits. 

To make them instruments of fear and warning 70 
Unto some monstrous state. 

Now could I, Casca, name to thee a man 


18 


JULIUS CLLSAR 


[Act One 


Most like this dreadful night, 

That thunders, lightens, opens graves, and roars 
As doth the lion in the Capitol, 

A man no mightier than thyself or me 
In personal action, yet prodigious grown 
And fearful, as these strange eruptions are. 

Casca. ’Tis Caesar that you mean; is it not, 
Cassius? 

Cas. Let it be who it is: for Romans now 
Have thews and limbs like to their ancestors; 

But, woe the while! our fathers’ minds are dead. 
And we are govern’d with our mothers’ spirits; 

Our yoke and sufferance show us womanish. 

Casca. Indeed, they say the senators to-morrow 
Mean to establish Caesar as a king; 

And he shall wear his crown by sea and land. 

In every place, save here in Italy. 

Cas. I know where I will wear this dagger then; 
Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius: 

Therein, ye gods, you make the weak most strong; 
Therein, ye gods, you tyrants do defeat: 

Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass. 

Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron. 

Can be retentive to the strength of spirit; 

But life, being weary of these worldly bars, 

Never lacks power to dismiss itself. 

If I know this, know all the world besides, 

That part of tyranny that I do bear 
I can shake off at pleasure. [Thunder still. 

Casca. So can I: 

So every bondman in his own hand bears 
The power to cancel his captivity. 


Scene Three] 


JULIUS CUES A R 


19 


Cas. And why should Caesar be a tyrant then? 

Poor man! I know he would not be a wolf, 

But that he sees the Romans are but sheep: 

He were no lion, were not Romans hinds. 

Those that with haste will make a mighty fire 
Begin it with weak straws: what trash is Rome, 

What rubbish and what offal, when it serves 

For the base matter to illuminate no 

So vile a thing as Caesar! But, O grief, 

Where hast thou led me? I perhaps speak this 
Before a willing bondman; then I know 
My answer must be made. But I am arm’d. 

And dangers are to me indifferent. 

Casca. You speak to Casca, and to such a man 
That is no fleering tell-tale. Hold, my hand: 

Be factious for redress of all these griefs, 

And I will set this foot of mine as far 
As who goes farthest. 

Cas. There ’s a bargain made. 120 

Now know you, Casca, I have moved already 
Some certain of the noble-minded Romans 
To undergo with me an enterprise 
Of honourable-dangerous consequence; 

And I do know, by this, they stay for me 
In Pompey’s porch: for now, this fearful night, 

There is no stir or walking in the streets; 

And the complexion of the element 
In favour’s like the work we have in hand, 

Most bloody, fiery, and most terrible. 130 

Casca. Stand close awhile, for here comes one 
in haste. 

Cas. ’T is Cinna; I do know him by his gait; 

He is a friend. 


20 


JULIUS CiESAR 


(Act One 


Enter Cinna 

Cinna, where haste you so? 

Cin. To find out you. Who’s that? Metellus 
Cimber? 

Cas. No, it is Casca; one incorporate 
To our attempts. Am I not stay’d for, Cinna? 

Cin. I am glad on’t. What a fearful night is 
this! 

There’s two or three of us have seen strange sights. 
Cas. Am I not stay’d for? tell me. 

Cin. Yes, you are. 

O Cassius, if you could 140 

But win the noble Brutus to our party — 

Cas. Be you content: good Cinna, take this 
paper, 

And look you lay it in the praetor’s chair, 

Where Brutus may but find it; and throw this 
In at his window; set this up with wax 
Upon old Brutus’ statue: all this done, 

Repair to Pompey’s porch, where you shall find us. 

Is Decius Brutus and Trebonius there? 

Cin. All but Metellus Cimber; and he’s gone 
To seek you at your house. Well, I will hie, 150 

And so bestow these papers as you bade me. 

Cas. That done, repair to Pompey’s theatre. 

[Exit Cinna. 

Come, Casca, you and I will yet ere day 
See Brutus at his house: three parts of him 
Is ours already, and the man entire 
Upon the next encounter yields him ours. 

Casca. O, he sits high in all the people’s hearts; 


Scene One] 


JULIUS CUES A R 


21 


And that which would appear offence in us, 

His countenance, like richest alchemy, 

Will change to virtue and to worthiness. 

Cas. Him and his worth and our great need of 
him 

You have right well conceited. Let us go, 

For it is after midnight; and ere day 

We will awake him and be sure of him. [Exeunt. 


ACT II 

Scene I — Rome. Brutus* orchard 1 
Enter Brutus 

Bru. What, Lucius, ho! 

I cannot, by the progress of the stars, 

Give guess how near to day. Lucius, I say! 

I would it were my fault to sleep so soundly. 

When, Lucius, when? awake, I say! what, Lucius! 

Enter Lucius 

Luc. Call’d you, my lord? 

Bru. Get me a taper in my study, Lucius: 

When it is lighted, come and call me here. 

Luc. I will, my lord. [Exit. 

Bru. It must be by his death: and for my part, 

I know no personal cause to spurn at him, 

But for the general. He would be crown’d: 

How that might change his nature, there’s the 
question. 

It is the bright day that brings forth the adder; 

1 Suggestions for the analysis of Brutus’s Soliloquy (1. 10 f.) and of his 
speech, “No, not an oath” (1. 113 f.) will be found on page 137. 



JULIUS CiESAR 


22 


[Act Two 


And that craves wary walking. Crown him? — 
that; — 

And then, I grant, we put a sting in him. 

That at his will he may do danger with. 

The abuse of greatness is, when it disjoins 
Remorse from power: and, to speak truth of Caesar, 
I have not known when his affections sway’d 
More than his reason. But’t is a common proof, 
That lowliness is young ambition’s ladder, 

Whereto the climber-upward turns his face; 

But when he once attains the upmost round. 

He then unto the ladder turns his back, 

Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees 
By which he did ascend. So Caesar may. 

Then, lest he may, prevent. And, since the quarrel 
Will bear no colour for the thing he is, 

Fashion it thus; that what he is* augmented. 

Would run to these and these extremities: 

And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg 
Which, hatch’d, would, as his kind, grow mischiev¬ 
ous, 

And kill him in the shell. 


Re-enter Lucius 

Luc. The taper burneth in your closet, sir. 
Searching the window for a flint, I found 
This paper, thus seal’d up; and, I am sure, 

It did not lie there when I went to bed. 

[Gives him the letter. 

Bru. Get you to bed again; it is not day. 

Is not to-morrow, boy, the ides of March? 

Luc. I know not, sir. 


Scene One] 


JULIUS CiESAR 


23 


Bru. Look in the calendar, and bring me word. 
Luc. I will, sir. [Exit. 

Bru. The exhalations whizzing in the air 
Give so much light that I may read by them. 

[Opens the letter and reads. 
“Brutus, thou sleep’st: awake, and see thyself. 
Shall Rome, &c. Speak, strike, redress! 

Brutus, thou sleep’st: awake!” 

Such instigations have been often dropp’d 
Where I have took them up. 

“Shall Rome, &c.” Thus must I piece it out: 

Shall Rome stand under one man’s awe? What, 
Rome? 

My ancestors did from the streets of Rome 
The Tarquin drive, when he was call’d a king. 
“Speak, strike, redress!” Am I entreated 
To speak and strike? O Rome, I make thee promise; 
If the redress will follow, thou receivest 
Thy full petition at the hand of Brutus! 

Re-enter Lucius 

Luc. Sir, March is wasted fourteen days. 

[Knocking within. 
Bru. ’Tis good. Go to the gate; somebody 
knocks. [Exit Lucius. 

Since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar, 

I have not slept. 

Between the acting of a dreadful thing 
And the first motion, all the interim is 
Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream: 

The genius and the mortal instruments 
Are then in council; and the state of man. 


24 


JULIUS CiESAR 


[Act Two 


Like to a little kingdom, suffers then 
The nature of an insurrection. 

Re-enter Lucius 

Luc. Sir, ’t is your brother Cassius at the door. 
Who doth desire to see you. 

Bru. Is he alone? 

Luc. No, sir, there are moe with him. 

Bru. Do you know them? 

Luc. No, sir; their hats are pluck’d about their 
ears, e 

And half their faces buried in their cloaks. 

That by no means I may discover them 
By any mark of favour. 

Bru. Let ’em enter. 

[Exit Lucius. 

They are the faction. O conspiracy, 

Shamest thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, 
When evils are most free? O, then by day 
Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough 
To mask thy monstrous visage? Seek none, con¬ 
spiracy; 

Hide it in smiles and affability: 

For if thou path, thy native semblance on, 

Not Erebus itself were dim enough 
To hide thee from prevention. 

Enter the conspirators , Cassius, Casca, Decius, Cinna, 
Metellus Cimber, and Trebonius 

Cas. I think we are too bold upon your rest: 
Good morrow, Brutus; do we trouble you? 


Scene One] 


JULIUS CUESAR 


25 


Bru. I have been up this hour, awake all night. 
Know I these men that come along with you? 

Cas. Yes, every man of them, and no man here 90 
But honours you; and every one doth wish 
You had but that opinion of yourself 
Which every noble Roman bears of you. 

This is Trebonius. 

Bru. He is welcome hither. 

Cas. This, Decius Brutus. 

Bru. He is welcome too. 

Cas. This, Casca; this, Cinna; and this, Metel- 
lus Cimber. 

Bru. They are all welcome. 

What watchful cares do interpose themselves 
Betwixt your eyes and night? 

Cas. Shall I entreat a word? 100 

[Brutus and Cassius whisper. 
Dec. Here lies the east: doth not the day break 
here? 

Casca. No. 

Cin. O, pardon, sir, it doth; and yon gray lines 
That fret the clouds are messengers of day. 

Casca. You shall confess that you are both 
deceived. 

Here, as I point my sword, the sun arises, 

Which is a great way growing on the south. 

Weighing the youthful season of the year. 

Some two months hence up higher toward the 
north 

He first presents his fire; and the high east 110 

Stands, as the Capitol, directly here. 

Bru. Give me your hands all over, one by one. 


26 


JULIUS CiESAR 


[Act Two 


Cas . And let us swear our resolution. 

Bru. No, not an oath: if not the face of men, 

The sufferance of our souls, the time’s abuse, — 

If these be motives weak, break off betimes. 

And every man hence to his idle bed; 

So let high-sighted tyranny range on, 

Till each man drop by lottery. But if these. 

As I am sure they do, bear fire enough 120 

To kindle cowards and to steel with valour 
The melting spirits of women, then, countrymen, 
What need we any spur but our own cause, 

To prick us to redress? what other bond 
Than secret Romans, that have spoke the word. 

And will not palter? and what other oath 
Than honesty to honesty engaged, 

That this shall be, or we will fall for it? 

Swear priests and cowards and men cautelous, 

Old feeble carrions and such suffering souls 130 

That welcome wrongs; unto bad causes swear 
Such creatures as men doubt; but do not stain 
The even virtue of our enterprise, 

Nor the insuppressive mettle of our spirits. 

To think that or our cause or our performance 
Did need an oath; when every drop of blood 
That every Roman bears, and nobly bears. 

Is guilty of a several bastardy, 

If he do break the smallest particle 
Of any promise that hath pass’d from him. 

Cas. But what of Cicero? shall we sound him? 

I think he will stand very strong with us. 

Casca . Let us not leave him out. 

Cin, No, by no means. 


140 


Scene One] 


JULIUS CUES A R 


27 


Met. O, let us have him, for his silver hairs 
Will purchase us a good opinion 
And buy men’s voices to commend our deeds: 

It shall be said, his judgment ruled our hands; 

Our youths and wildness shall no whit appear, 

But all be buried in his gravity. 

Bru. O, name him not: let us not break with 

him; iso 

For he will never follow any thing 
That other men begin. 

Cas. Then leave him out. 

Casca. Indeed he is not fit. 

Dec. Shall no man else be touch’d but only 
Caesar? 

Cas. Decius, well urged: I think it is not meet, 
Mark Antony, so well beloved of Caesar, 

Should outlive Caesar: we shall find of him 
A shrewd contriver; and, you know, his means, 

If he improve them, may well stretch so far 
As to annoy us all: which to prevent, iso 

Let Antony and Caesar fall together. 

Bru. Our course will seem too bloody, Caius 
Cassius, 

To cut the head off and then hack the limbs, 

Like wrath in death and envy afterwards; 

For Antony is but a limb of Caesar: 

Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius. 

We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar; 

And in the spirit of men there is no blood: 

O, that we then could come by Caesar’s spirit. 

And not dismember Caesar! But, alas, 

Caesar must bleed for it! And, gentle friends. 


170 


28 


JULIUS CiESAR 


[Act Two 


Let’s kill him boldly, but not wrathfully; 

Let’s carve him as a dish fit for the gods, 

Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds: 

And let our hearts, as subtle masters do, 

Stir up their servants to an act of rage. 

And after seem to chide ’em. This shall make 
Our purpose necessary and not envious: 

Which so appearing to the common eyes, 

We shall be call’d purgers, not murderers. iso 

And for Mark Antony, think not of him; 

For he can do no more than Caesar’s arm 
When Caesar’s head is off. 

Cas. Yet I fear him; 

For in the ingrafted love he bears to Caesar — 

Bru. Alas, good Cassius, do not think of him: 

If he love Caesar, all that he can do 

Is to himself, take thought and die for Caesar: 

And that were much he should; for he is given 
To sports, to wildness and much company. 

Treb. There is no fear in him; let him not die; 190 
For he will live, and laugh at this hereafter. 

[Clock strikes. 

Bru. Peace! count the clock. 

Cas. The clock hath stricken three. 

Treb. ’T is time to part. 

Cas. But it is doubtful yet, 

Whether Caesar will come forth to-day, or no; 

For he is superstitious grown of late, 

Quite from the main opinion he held once 
Of fantasy, of dreams and ceremonies: 

It may be, these apparent prodigies, 

The unaccustom’d terror of this night, 


Scene One] 


JULIUS CiESAR 


29 


And the persuasion of his augurers, 

May hold him from the Capitol to-day. 

Dec. Never fear that: if he be so resolved, 

I can o’ersway him; for he loves to hear 
That unicorns may be betray’d with trees. 

And bears with glasses, elephants with holes, 

Lions with toils and men with flatterers; 

But when I tell him he hates flatterers, 

He says he does, being then most flattered. 

Let me work; 

For I can give his humour the true bent, 

And I will bring him to the Capitol. 

Cas. Nay, we will all of us be there to fetch him. 
Bru. By the eighth hour: is that the uttermost? 
Cin. Be that the uttermost, and fail not then. 
Met. Caius Ligarius doth bear Caesar hard, 

Who rated him for speaking well of Pompey: 

I wonder none of you have thought of him. 

Bru. Now, good Metellus, go along by him: 

He loves me well, and I have given him reasons; 
Send him but hither, and I ’ll fashion him. 

Cas. The morning comes upon’s: we’ll leave 
you, Brutus. 

And, friends, disperse yourselves; but all remember 
What you have said, and show yourselves true 
Romans. 

Bru. Good gentlemen, look fresh and merrily: 
Let not our looks put on our purposes, 

But bear it as our Roman actors do, 

With untired spirits and formal constancy: 

And so good morrow to you every one. 

[Exeunt all but Brutus . 


30 


JULIUS CdBSAR 


[Act Two 


Boy! Lucius! Fast asleep? It is no matter; 

Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber: 230 

Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies, 

Which busy care draws in the brains of men; 
Therefore thou sleep’st so sound. 

Enter Portia 

Por. Brutus, my lord! 

Bru. Portia, what mean you? wherefore rise 
you now? 

It is not for your health thus to commit 
Your weak condition to the raw cold morning. 

Por. Nor for yours neither. You ’ve ungently, 
Brutus, 

Stole from my bed: and yesternight, at supper, 

You suddenly arose, and walk’d about, 

Musing and sighing, with your arms across, 240 

And when I ask’d you what the matter was. 

You stared upon me with ungentle looks; 

I urged you further; then you scratch’d your head, 
And too impatiently stamp’d with your foot; 

Yet I insisted, yet you answer’d not. 

But, with an angry wafture of your hand, 

Gave sign for me to leave you: so I did; 

Fearing to strengthen that impatience 
Which seem’d too much enkindled, and withal 
Hoping it was but an effect of humour, 250 

Which sometime hath his hour with every man. 

It will not let you eat, nor talk, nor sleep, 

And could it work so much upon your shape 
As it hath much prevail’d on your condition, 

I should not know you, Brutus. Dear my lord, 


Scene One] 


JULIUS CAESAR 


31 


Make me acquainted with your cause of grief. 

Bru. I am not well in health, and that is all. 

Por. Brutus is wise, and, were he not in health, 

He would embrace the means to come by it. 

Bru. Why, so I do. Good Portia, go to bed. 260 

Por. Is Brutus sick? and is it physical 
To walk unbraced and suck up the humours 
Of the dank morning? What, is Brutus sick, 

And will he steal out of his wholesome bed, 

To dare the vile contagion of the night 
And tempt the rheumy and unpurged air 
To add unto his sickness? No, my Brutus; 

You have some sick offence within your mind, 

Which, by the right and virtue of my place, 

I ought to know of: and, upon my knees, 270 

I charm you, by my once-commended beauty. 

By all your vows of love and that great vow 
Which did incorporate and make us one, 

That you unfold to me, yourself, your half. 

Why you are heavy, and what men to-night 
Have had resort to you: for here have been 
Some six or seven, who did hide their faces 
Even from darkness. 

Bru. Kneel not, gentle Portia. 

Por. I should not need, if you were gentle Brutus. 
Within the bond of marriage, tell me, Brutus, 280 

Is it excepted I should know no secrets 
That appertain to you? Am I yourself 
But, as it were, in sort or limitation. 

To keep with you at meals, comfort your bed, 

And talk to you sometimes? Dwell I but in the 
suburbs 


32 


JULIUS CiESAR 


[Act Two 


Of your good pleasure? If it be no more, 

Portia is Brutus’ harlot, not his wife. 

Bru. You are my true and honourable wife, 

As dear to me as are the ruddy drops 
That visit my sad heart. 

Bor. If this were true, then should I know this 
secret. 

I grant I am a woman; but withal 
A woman that Lord Brutus took to wife: 

I grant I am a woman; but withal 
A woman well-reputed, Cato’s daughter. 

Think you I am no stronger than my sex, 

Being so father’d and so husbanded? 

Tell me your counsels, I will not disclose ’em: 

I have made strong proof of my constancy, 

Giving myself a voluntary wound 

Here, in the thigh: can I bear that with patience. 

And not my husband’s secrets? 

Bru. O ye gods. 

Render me worthy of this noble wife! 

[Knocking within. 

Hark, hark! one knocks: Portia, go in awhile; 

And by and by thy bosom shall partake 
The secrets of my heart. 

All my engagements I will construe to thee, 

All the charactery of my sad brows: 

Leave me with haste. [Exit Portia.] Lucius, who’s 
that knocks? 

Re-enter Lucius with Ligarius 

Luc. Here is a sick man that would speak with 
you. 


Scene One] 


JULIUS CiESAR 


33 


Bru. Caiiis Ligarius, that Metellus spake of. 

Boy, stand aside. Caius Ligarius! how? 

Lig. Vouchsafe good morrow from a feeble 
tongue. 

Bru. O, what a time have you chose out, brave 
Caius, 

To wear a kerchief! Would you were not sick! 

Lig. I am not sick, if Brutus have in hand 
Any exploit worthy the name of honour. 

Bru. Such an exploit have I in hand, Ligarius, 

Had you a healthful ear to hear of it. 

Lig. By all the gods that Romans bow before, 320 
I here discard my sickness! Soul of Rome! 

Brave son, derived from honourable loins! 

Thou, like an exorcist, hast conjured up 
My mortified spirit. Now bid me run, 

And I will strive with things impossible; 

Yea, get the better of them. What’s to do? 

Bru. A piece of work that will make sick men 
whole. 

Lig. But are not some whole that we must make 
sick? 

Bru. That must we also. What it is, my Caius, 

I shall unfold to thee, as we are going 330 

To whom it must be done. 

Lig. Set on your foot. 

And with a heart new-fired I follow you, 

To do I know not what: but it sufficeth 
That Brutus leads me on. 

Bru. Follow me, then. 

[Exeunt . 


34 


JULIUS CESAR 


[Act Two 


Scene II — Caesar s house 

Thunder and lightning . Enter CLesar, in his nightgown 

Coes. Nor heaven nor earth have been at peace 
to-night: 

Thrice hath Calpurnia in her sleep cried out, 

“Help, ho! they murder Csesar!” Who’s within? 

Enter a Servant 

Serv. My lord? 

Coes. Go bid the priests do present sacrifice 
And bring me their opinions of success. 

Serv. I will, my lord. [Exit. 

Enter Calpurnia 

Cal. What mean you, Csesar? think you to 
walk forth? 

i r ou shall not stir out of your house to-day. 

Coes. Csesar shall forth: the things that threat¬ 
en’d me 

Ne’er look’d but on my back; when they shall see 
The face of Csesar, they are vanished. 

Cal. Csesar, I never stood on ceremonies. 

Yet now they fright me. There is one within, 
Besides the things that we have heard and seen, 
Recounts most horrid sights seen by the watch. 

A lioness hath whelped in the streets; 

And graves have yawn’d, and yielded up their dead; 
Fierce fiery warriors fought upon the clouds. 

In ranks and squadrons and right form of war. 
Which drizzled blood upon the Capitol; 



Enter Caesar in His Nightgown ” 
From a drawing by Gordon Stevenson. 
















Scene Two] 


JULIUS C7ESAR 


35 


The noise of battle hurtled in the air. 

Horses did neigh, and dying men did groan, 

And ghosts did shriek and squeal about the streets. 

O Caesar! these things are beyond all use, 

And I do fear them. 

Coes. What can be avoided 

Whose end is purposed by the mighty gods? 

Yet Caesar shall go forth; for these predictions 
Are to the world in general as to Caesar. 

Cal. When beggars die, there are no comets 

seen; 3(J 

The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of 
princes. 

Coes. Cowards die many times before their deaths; 
The valiant never taste of death but once. 

Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, 

It seems to me most strange that men should fear; 
Seeing that death, a necessary end, 

Will come when it will come. 

Re-enter Servant 

What say the augurers ? 1 
Serv. They would not have you to stir forth 
to-day. 

Plucking the entrails of an offering forth, 

They could not find a heart within the beast. 40 

Coes. The gods do this in shame of cowardice: 
Caesar should be a beast without a heart, 

If he should stay at home to-day for fear. 

No, Caesar shall not: Danger knows full well 
That Caesar is more dangerous than he: 

We are two Hons litter’d in one day, 

1 See passage, page 110 f. 


36 


JULIUS CiESAR 


[Act Two 


And I the elder and more terrible: 

And Caesar shall go forth. 

Cal. Alas, my lord, 

Your wisdom is consumed in confidence. 

Do not go forth to-day: call it my fear 

That keeps you in the house, and not your own. 

We’ll send Mark Antony to the Senate-house; 

And he shall say you are not well to-day: 

Let me, upon my knee, prevail in this. 

Cobs. Mark Antony shall say I am not well; 
And, for thy humour, I will stay at home. 

Enter Decius 

Here’s Decius Brutus, he shall tell them so. 

Dec. Caesar, all hail! good morrow, worthy 
Caesar: 

I come to fetch you to the Senate-house. 

Coes. And you are come in very happy time. 

To bear my greeting to the senators 
And tell them that I will not come to-day: 

Cannot, is false, and that I dare not, falser: 

I will not come to-day: tell them so, Decius. 

Cal. Say he is sick. 

Coes. Shall Caesar send a lie? 

Have I in conquest stretch’d mine arm so far, 

To be afeard to tell graybeards the truth? 

Decius, go tell them Caesar will not come. 

Dec. Most mighty Caesar, let me know some 
cause, 

Lest I be laugh’d at when I tell them so. 

Coes. The cause is in my will: I will not come; 
That is enough to satisfy the Senate. 


Scene Two] JULIUS CiESAR 37 

But for your private satisfaction. 

Because I love you, I will let you know: 

Calpurnia here, my wife, stays me at home: 

She dreamt to-night she saw my statua. 

Which, like a fountain with an hundred spouts, 

Did run pure blood; and many lusty Romans 
Came smiling, and did bathe their hands in it: 

And these does she apply for warnings, and portents, so 

Of evils imminent; and on her knee 

Hath begg’d that I will stay at home to-day. 

Dec. This dream is all amiss interpreted; 

It was a vision fair and fortunate: 

Your statue spouting blood in many pipes, 

In which so many smiling Romans bathed, 

Signifies that from you great Rome shall suck 
Reviving blood, and that great men shall press 
For tinctures, stains, relics and cognizance. 

This by Calpurnia’s dream is signified. 90 

Cces. And this way have you well expounded it. 
Dec. I have, when you have heard what I can 
say: 

And know it now: the Senate have concluded 
To give this day a crown to mighty Caesar. 

If you shall send them word you will not come. 

Their minds may change. Besides, it were a mock 
Apt to be render’d, for some one to say 
“Break up the Senate till another time. 

When Caesar’s wife shall meet with better dreams.” 

If Caesar hide himself, shall they not whisper 100 

“Lo, Caesar is afraid?” 

Pardon me, Caesar; for my dear dear love 
To your proceeding bids me tell you this; 


38 


JULIUS CiESAR 


[Act Two 


And reason to my love is liable. 

Coes. How foolish do your fears seem now, CaL 
purnia! 

I am ashamed I did yield to them. 

Give me my robe, for I will go. 

Enter Publius, Brutus, Ligarius, Metellus, Casca, 
Trebonius, and Cinna 

And look where Publius is come to fetch me. 

Pub. Good morrow, Caesar. 

Coes. Welcome, Publius. 

What, Brutus, are you stirr’d so early too? no 

Good morrow, Casca. Caius Ligarius, 

Caesar was ne’er so much your enemy 
As that same ague which hath made you lean. 

What is’t o’clock? 1 

Bru. Caesar, ’t is strucken eight. 

Coes. I thank you for your pains and courtesy. 

Enter Antony 

See! Antony, that revels long o’ nights, 

Is notwithstanding up. Good morrow, Antony. 

Ant. So to most noble Caesar. 

Coes. Bid them prepare within: 

I am to blame to be thus waited for. 

Now, Cinna: now, Metellus: what, Trebonius! 120 
I have an hour’s talk in store for you; 

Remember that you call on me to-day: 

Be near me, that I may remember you. 

Treb. Caesar, I will: [Aside] and so near will I 
be, 

That your best friends shall wish I had been further. 

1 See passage, page 114-115. 


Scene Four] 


JULIUS CiESAR 


39 


Ccbs. Good friends, go in, and taste some wine 
with me; 

And we, like friends, will straightway go together. 
Bru. [Aside] That every like is not the same, 
O Caesar, 

The heart of Brutus yearns to think upon! [Exeunt. 

Scene III — A street near the Capitol 
Enter Artemidorus, reading a paper 

Art. “Caesar, beware of Brutus; take heed of 
Cassius; come not near Casca; have an eye to 
Cinna; trust not Trebonius; mark well Metellus 
Cimber: Decius Brutus loves thee not: thou hast 
wronged Caius Ligarius. There is but one mind in 
all these men, and it is bent against Caesar. If thou 
beest not immortal, look about you: security gives 
way to conspiracy. The mighty gods defend thee! 
Thy lover, Artemidorus.” 

Here will I stand till Caesar pass along, 

And as a suitor will I give him this. 

My heart laments that virtue cannot live 
Out of the teeth of emulation. 

If thou read this, O Caesar, thou mayst live; 

If not, the Fates with traitors do contrive. [Exit. 

Scene IV — Another part of the same street, before the 
house of Brutus 

Enter Portia and Lucius 

Por. I prithee, boy, run to the Senate-house; 
Stay not to answer me, but get thee gone: 

Why dost thou stay? 


10 


40 


JULIUS CiESAR 


[Act Two 


Luc. To know my errand, madam. 

For. I would have had thee there, and here 
again, 

Ere I can tell thee what thou shouldst do there. 

O Constancy, be strong upon my side, 

Set a huge mountain ’tween my heart and tongue! 

I have a man’s mind, but a woman’s might. 

How hard it is for women to keep counsel! 

Art thou here yet? 

Luc. Madam, what should I do? 

Run to the Capitol, and nothing else? 

And so return to you, and nothing else? 

For. Yes, bring me word, boy, if thy lord look 
well, 

For he went sickly forth: and take good note 
What Caesar doth, what suitors press to him. 

Hark, boy! what noise is that? 

Luc. I hear none, madam. 

For. Prithee, listen well; 

I heard a bustling rumour, like a fray, 

And the wind brings it from the Capitol. 

Luc. Sooth, madam, I hear nothing. 

Enter the Soothsayer 

Por. Come hither, fellow: which way hast thou 
been? 

Sooth. At mine own house, good lady. 

Por. What is ’t o’clock? 

Sooth. About the ninth hour, lady. 

Por. Is Caesar yet gone to the Capitol? 

Sooth. Madam, not yet: I go to take my stand. 
To see him pass on to the Capitol. 


Scene Four] 


JULIUS CAESAR 


41 


Por. Thou hast some suit to Caesar, hast thou 
not? 

S°°th. That I have, lady: if it will please Caesar 
To be so good to Caesar as to hear me, 

I shall beseech him to befriend himself. 

Por. Why, know’st thou any harm’s intended 
towards him? 

Sooth. None that I know will be, much that I 
fear may chance. 

Good morrow to you. Here the street is narrow: 
The throng that follows Caesar at the heels. 

Of senators, of praetors, common suitors, 

Will crowd a feeble man almost to death: 

I ’ll get me to a place more void, and there 
Speak to great Caesar as he comes along. [Exit 
Por. I must go in. Ay me, how weak a thing 
The heart of woman is! O Brutus, 

The heavens speed thee in thine enterprise! 

Sure, the boy heard me: Brutus hath a suit 
That Caesar will not grant. O, I grow faint. 

Run, Lucius, and commend me to my lord; 

Say I am merry: come to me again, 

And bring me word what he doth say to thee. 

[Exeunt severally . 


ACT III 


Scene I — Rome. Before the Capitol; the Senate sitting 
above 

A crowd of people; among them Artemidorus and the 
Soothsayer. Flourish . Enter Caesar* Brutus, 

Cassius, Casca, Decius, Metellus, Trebonius, 
Cinna, Antony, Lepidus, Popilius, Publius, and 
others 

Cces. [To the Soothsayer] The ides of March are 
come. 

Sooth. Ay, Caesar; but not gone. 

Art. Hail, Caesar! read this schedule. 

Dec. Trebonius doth desire you to o’er-read. 

At your best leisure, this his humble suit. 

Art. O Caesar, read mine first; for mine’s a suit 
That touches Caesar nearer: read it, great Caesar. 

Coes. What touches us ourself shall be last served. 
Art. Delay not, Caesar; read it instantly. 

Cces. What, is the fellow mad? 

Pub. Sirrah, give place. 10 

Cas. What, urge you your petitions in the street? 
Come to the Capitol. 

Cesar goes up to the Senate-House , the rest 
following 

Pop. I wish your enterprise to-day may thrive. 
Cas. What enterprise, Popilius? 

Pop. Fare you well. 

[Advances to Caesar . 
Bni. What said Popilius Lena? 

42 


Scene One] 


JULIUS CiESAR 


43 


Cas. He wish’d to-day our enterprise might 
thrive. 

I fear our purpose is discovered. 

Bru. Look, how he makes to Caesar: mark him. 
Cas. Casca, be sudden, for we fear prevention. 
Brutus, what shall be done? If this be known, 
Cassius or Caesar never shall turn back, 

For I will slay myself. 

Bru. Cassius, be constant: 

Popilius Lena speaks not of our purposes; 

For, look, he smiles, and Caesar doth not change. 
Cas. Trebonius knows his time; for, look you, 
Brutus, 

He draws Mark Antony out of the way. 

[Exeunt Antony and Trebonius. 
Dec. Where is Metellus Cimber? Let him go. 
And presently prefer his suit to Caesar. 

Bru. He is address’d: press near and second him. 
Cin. Casca, you are the first that rears your hand. 
Coes. Are we all ready? What is now amiss 
That Caesar and his senate must redress? 

Met. Most high, most mighty, and most puis¬ 
sant Caesar, 

Metellus Cimber throws before thy seat 
An humble heart, — [Kneeling. 

Coes. I must prevent thee, Cimber. 

These couchings and these lowly courtesies 
Might fire the blood of ordinary men, 

And turn pre-ordinance and first decree 
Into the law of children. Be not fond, 

To think that Caesar bears such rebel blood 
That will be thaw’d from the true quality 


JULIUS CiESAR 


44 


[Act Three 


With that which melteth fools; I mean, sweet 
words, 

Low-crooked courtesies and base spaniel-fawning. 
Thy brother by decree is banished: 

If thou dost bend and pray and fawn for him, 

I spurn thee like a cur out of my way. 

Know, Caesar doth not wrong, nor without cause 
Will he be satisfied. 

Met. Is there no voice more worthy than my 
own. 

To sound more sweetly in great Caesar’s ear 
For the repealing of my banish’d brother? 

Bru. I kiss thy hand, but not in flattery, Caesar; 
Desiring thee that Publius Cimber may 
Have an immediate freedom of repeal. 

Cces. What, Brutus! 

Cas. Pardon, Caesar; Caesar, pardon: 

As low as to thy foot doth Cassius fall, 

To beg enfranchisement for Publius Cimber. 

Cces. I could be well moved, if I were as you; 

If I could pray to move, prayers would move me: 
But I am constant as the northern star, 

Of whose true-fix’d and resting quality 
There is no fellow in the firmament. 

The skies are painted with unnumber’d sparks. 

They are all fire and every one doth shine, 

But there’s but one in all doth hold his place: 

So in the world; ’t is furnish’d well with men, 

And men are flesh and blood, and apprehensive; 

Yet in the number I do know but one 
That unassailable holds on his rank, 

Unshaked of motion: and that I am he, 


Scene One] 


JULIUS CiESAR 


45 


Let meji little show it, even in this; 

TJiaUi was constant Cimber should be banish’d, 

'and constant do remain to keep him so. 

Cin. 0 Csesar, — 

Cobs. Hence! wilt thou lift up Olympus? 

Dec. Great Csesar, — 

Cobs. Doth not Brutus bootless kneel? 

Casca. Speak, hands, for me! 

[Casca first, then the other Conspirators and Mar¬ 
cus Brutus stab Caesar. 
Cobs. Et tu, Brute! Then fall, Csesar! [Dies. 
Cin. Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead! 

Run hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets. 

Cas. Some to the common pulpits, and cry out so 
“Liberty, freedom, and enfranchisement!” 

Bru. People and senators, be not affrighted; 

Fly not; stand still: ambition’s debt is paid. 

Casca. Go to the pulpit, Brutus. 

Dec. And Cassius too. 

Bru. Where’s Publius? 

Cin. Here, quite confounded with this mutiny. 
Met. Stand fast together, lest some friend of 
Caesar’s 
Should chance — 

Bru. Talk not of standing. Publius, good cheer; 
There is no harm intended to your person, 90 

Nor to no Roman else: so tell them, Publius. 

Cas. And leave us, Publius; lest that the people, 
Rushing on us, should do your age some mischief. 

Bru. Do so: and let no man abide this deed, 
But we the doers. 


46 


JULIUS CAESAR 


[Act Three 


Re-enter Trebonius 

Cas. Where is Antony? 

Tre. Fled to his house amazed: 

Men, wives and children stare, cry out and run 
As it were doomsday. 

Bru. Fates, we will know your pleasures: 

That we shall die, we know; ’t is but the time 
And drawing days out, that men stand upon. 

Casca. Why, he that cuts off twenty years of 
life 

Cuts off so many years of fearing death. 

Bru. Grant that, and then is death a benefit: 
So are we Caesar’s friends, that have abridged 
His time of fearing death. Stoop, Romans, stoop, 
And let us bathe our hands in Caesar’s blood 
Up to the elbows, and besmear our swords: 

Then walk we forth, even to the market-place, 
And, waving our red weapons o’er our heads, 

Let’s all cry “Peace, freedom and liberty!” 

Cas. Stoop, then, and wash. How many ages 
hence 

Shall this our lofty scene be acted over 
In states unborn and accents yet unknown! 

Bru. How many times shall Caesar bleed in sport. 
That now on Pompey’s basis lies along 
No worthier than the dust! 

Cas. So oft as that shall be. 

So often shall the knot of us be call’d 
The men that gave their country liberty. 

Dec. What, shall we forth? 

Cas. Ay, every man away: 


Scene One] 


JULIUS CiESAR 


47 


Brutus shall lead; and we will grace his heels 
With the most boldest and best hearts of Rome. 

Enter a Servant 

Bru. Soft! who comes here? A friend of Antony’s. 
Serv. Thus, Brutus, did my master bid me kneel; 
Thus did Mark Antony bid me fall down; 

And, being prostrate, thus he bade me say: 

Brutus is noble, wise, valiant, and honest; 

Caesar was mighty, bold, royal, and loving: 

Say I love Brutus, and I honour him; 

Say I fear’d Caesar, honour’d him and loved him. 

If Brutus will vouchsafe that Antony 
May safely come to him, and be resolved 
How Caesar hath deserved to lie in death, 

Mark Antony shall not love Caesar dead 
So well as Brutus living; but will follow 
The fortunes and affairs of noble Brutus 
Through the hazards of this untrod state 
With all true faith. So says my master Antony. 

Bru. Thy master is a wise and valiant Roman; 

I never thought him worse. 

Tell him, so please him come unto this place, 1 

He shall be satisfied; and, by my honour. 

Depart untouch’d. 

Serv. I ’ll fetch him presently. [Exit. 

Bru. I know that we shall have him well to 
friend. 

Cas. I wish we may: but yet have I a mind 
That fears him much; and my misgiving still 
Falls shrewdly to the purpose. 

Bru. But here comes Antony. 


48 


JULIUS CLLSAR 


[Act Three 


Re-enter Antony 

Welcome, Mark Antony. 
Ant. O mighty Caesar! dost thou lie so low? 

Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, 
Shrunk to this little measure? Fare thee well. 

I know not, gentlemen, what you intend, 

Who else must be let blood, who else is rank: 

If I myself, there is no hour so fit 
As Caesar’s death’s hour, nor no instrument 
Of half that worth as those your swords, made rich 
With the most noble blood of all this world. 

I do beseech ye, if you bear me hard. 

Now, whilst your purpled hands do reek and smoke. 
Fulfil your pleasure. Live a thousand years, 

I shall not find myself so apt to die: 

No place will please me so, no mean of death. 

As here by Caesar, and by you cut off, 

The choice and master spirits of this age. 

Bru. O Antony, beg not your death of us. 
Though now we must appear bloody and cruel. 

As, by our hands and this our present act. 

You see we do. Yet see you but our hands 
And this the bleeding business they have done: 

Our hearts you see not; they are pitiful; 

And pity to the general wrong of Rome — 

As fire drives out fire, so pity pity — 

Hath done this deed on Caesar. For your part, 

To you our swords have leaden points, Mark Antony: 
Our arms, in strength of malice, and our hearts 
Of brothers’ temper, do receive you in 
With all kind love, good thoughts, and reverence. 


Scene One] 


JULIUS GESAR 


49 


Cas. Your voice shall be as strong as any man’s 
In the disposing of new dignities. 

Bru. Only be patient till we have appeased 
The multitude, beside themselves with fear, 

And then we will deliver you the cause. 

Why I, that did love Caesar when I struck him. 
Have thus proceeded. 

Ant. I doubt not of your wisdom. 

Let each man render me his bloody hand: 

First, Marcus Brutus, will I shake with you; 

Next, Caius Cassius, do I take your hand; 

Now, Decius Brutus, yours; now yours, Metellus; 
Yours, Cinna; and, my valiant Casca, yours; 
Though last, not least in love, yours, good Trebonius. 
Gentlemen all, — alas, what shall I say? i 

My credit now stands on such slippery ground. 

That one of two bad ways you must conceit me. 
Either a coward or a flatterer. 

That I did love thee, Caesar, O, ’t is true: 

If then thy spirit look upon us now. 

Shall it not grieve thee dearer than thy death. 

To see thy Antony making his peace. 

Shaking the bloody fingers of thy foes. 

Most noble! in the presence of thy corse? 

Had I as many eyes as thou hast wounds, gi 

Weeping as fast as they stream forth thy blood. 

It would become me better than to close 
In terms of friendship with thine enemies. 

P ardon me, J ulius! Here wast thou bay’d, brave hart; 
Here didst thou fall; and here thy hunters stand, 
Sign’d in thy spoil, and crimson’d in thy lethe. 

O world, thou wast the forest to this hart; 


50 


JULIUS CAESAR 


[Act Three 


And this, indeed, O world, the heart of thee. 

How like a deer, strucken by many princes, 

Dost thou here lie! 210 

Cas. Mark Antony, — 

Ant. Pardon me, Caius Cassius: 

The enemies of Caesar shall say this; 

Then, in a friend, it is cold modesty. 

Cas. I blame you not for praising Caesar so; 

But what compact mean you to have with us? 

Will you be prick’d in number of our friends; 

Or shall we on, and not depend on you? 

Ant. Therefore I took your hands, but was, indeed, 
Sway’d from the point, by looking down on Caesar. 
Friends am I with you all and love you all, 220 

Upon this hope, that you shall give me reasons 
Why and wherein Caesar was dangerous. 

Bru. Or else were this a savage spectacle: 

Our reasons are so full of good regard 
That were you, Antony, the son of Caesar, 

You should be satisfied. 

Ant. That’s all I seek: 

And am moreover suitor that I may 
Produce his body to the market-place; 

And in the pulpit, as becomes a friend. 

Speak in the order of his funeral. 230 

Bru. You shall, Mark Antony. 

Cas. Brutus, a word with you. 

[Aside to Bru.] You know not what you do: do not 
consent 

That Antony speak in his funeral: 

Know you how much the people may be moved 
By that which he will utter? 


Scene One] 


JULIUS CUES A R 


51 


B ru - By your pardon; 

I will myself into the pulpit first, 

And show the reason of our Csesar’s death: 

What Antony shall speak, I will protest 
He speaks by leave and by permission. 

And that we are contented Caesar shall 
Have all true rites and lawful ceremonies. 

It shall advantage more than do us wrong. 

Cas. I know not what may fall; I like it not. 
Bru. Mark Antony, here, take you Csesar’s body. 
You shall not in your funeral speech blame us, 

But speak all good you can devise of Caesar, 

And say £ou do’t by our permission; 

Else shall you not have any hand at all 
About his funeral: and you shall speak 
In the same pulpit whereto I am going, 

After my speech is ended. 

Ant. Be it so; 

I do desire no more. 

Bru. Prepare the body then, and follow us. 

[Exeunt all but Antony. 
Ant. O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth. 
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers! 
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man 
That ever lived in the tide of times. 

Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood! 

Over thy wounds now do I prophesy, — 

Which, like dumb mouths, do ope their ruby lips, 

To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue — 

A curse shall light upon the limbs of men; 

Domestic fury and fierce civil strife 
Shall cumber all the parts of Italy; 


240 


250 


260 


52 


JULIUS CiESAR 


[Act Three 


Blood and destruction shall be so in use 
And dreadful objects so familiar 
That mothers shall but smile when they behold 
Their infants quarter’d with the hands of war; 

All pity choked with custom of fell deeds: 

And Caesar’s spirit, ranging for revenge, 

With Ate by his side come hot from hell, 

Shall in these confines with a monarch’s voice 
Cry “Havoc!” and let slip the dogs of war; 

That this foul deed shall smell above the earth 
With carrion men, groaning for burial 

Enter a Servant , 

You serve Octavius Caesar, do you not? 

Serv. I do, Mark Antony. 

Ant. Caesar did write for him to come to Rome. 
Serv. He did receive his letters, and is coming; 
And bid me say to you by word of mouth — 

O Caesar! — [Seeing the body. 

Ant. Thy heart is big, get thee apart and weep. 
Passion, I see, is catching; for mine eyes, 

Seeing those beads of sorrow stand in thine, 

Began to water. Is thy master coming? 

Serv. He lies to-night within seven leagues of 
Rome. 

Ant. Post back with speed, and tell him what 
hath chanced: 

Here is a mourning Rome, a dangerous Rome, 

No Rome of safety for Octavius yet; 

Hie hence, and tell him so. Yet, stay awhile; 

Thou shalt not back till I have borne this corse 
Into the market-place: there shall I try, 


Scene Two] 


JULIUS CiESAR 


53 


In my oration* how the people take 
The cruel issue of these bloody men; 

According to the which, thou shalt discourse 
To young Octavius of the state of things. 

Lend me your hand. [Exeunt with Caesar s body. 

Scene II — The Forum 

Enter Brutus and Cassius, and a throng of Citizens 

Citizens. We will be satisfied; let us be satisfied. 
Bru. Then follow me, and give me audience, 
friends. 

Cassius, go you into the other street, 

And part the numbers. 

Those that will hear me speak, let ’em stay here; 
Those that will follow Cassius, go with him; 

And public reasons shall be rendered 
Of Caesar’s death. 

First Cit. I will hear Brutus speak. 

Sec. Cit. I will hear Cassius; and compare their 
reasons, 

When severally we hear them rendered. 

[Exit Cassius , with some of the Citizens. 

Brutus goes into the pulpit. 
Third Cit. The noble Brutus is ascended: silence! 
Bru. Be patient till the last. 

Romans, countrymen, and lovers! hear me for my 
cause, and be silent, that you may hear: believe me 
for mine honour, and have respect to mine Tionour, 
that you may believe: censure me in your wisdom, 
and awake your senses, that you may the better 
judge. If there be any in this assembly, any dear 


10 


54 


JULIUS CUESAR 


[Act Three 


friend of Caesar’s, to him I say, that Brutus’ love to 20 
Caesar was no less than his. If then that friend de¬ 
mand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my 
answer: — Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I 
loved Rome more. Had you rather Caesar were liv¬ 
ing and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, 
to live all free men? As Caesar loved me, I weep for 
him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was 
valiant, I honour him: but, as he was ambitious, I 
slew him. There is tears for his love; joy for his 
fortune; honour for his valour; and death for his 30 
ambition. Who is here so base that would be a 
bondman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. 
Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman? 

If any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is 
here so vile that will not love his country? If any, 
speak; for him have I offended. I pause for a reply. 37 

All. None, Brutus, none. 

Bru. Then none have I offended. I have done no 
more to Caesar than you shall do to Brutus. The 
question of his death is enrolled in the Capitol; his 40 
glory not extenuated, wherein he was worthy, nor 
his offences enforced, for which he suffered death. 44 

Enter Antony and others with Caesar’s body 

Here comes his body, mourned by Mark Antony: 
who, though he had no hand in his death, shall re¬ 
ceive the benefit of his dying, a place in the common¬ 
wealth;'as which of you shall not? With this I 
depart, — that, as I slew my best lover for the good 
of Rome, I have the same dagger for myself, when 
it shall please my country to need my death. 52 


Scene Two] 


JULIUS CvESAR 


55 


All. Live, Brutus! live, live! 

First Cit. Bring him with triumph home unto his 
house. 

Sec. Cit. Give him a statue with his ancestors. 
Third Cit. Let him be Caesar. 

Fourth Cit. Caesar’s better parts 

Shall be crown’d in Brutus. 

First Cit. We’ll bring him to his house 

With shouts and clamours. 

Bru. My countrymen, — 

Sec. Cit. Peace, silence! Brutus speaks. 

First Cit. Peace, ho! 

Bru. Good countrymen, let me depart alone. 
And, for my sake, stay here with Antony: 

Do grace to Caesar’s corpse, and grace his speech 
Tending to Caesar’s glories; which Mark Antony, 
By our permission, is allow’d to make. 

I do entreat you, not a man depart, 

Save I alone, till Antony have spoke. [Exit. 

First Cit. Stay, ho! and let us hear Mark Antony. 
Third Cit. Let him go up into the public chair; 
We’ll hear him. Noble Antony, go up. 

Ant. For Brutus’ sake, I am beholding to you. 

[Goes into the pulpit. 

Fourth Cit. What does he say of Brutus? 

Third Cit. He says, for Brutus’ sake. 

He finds himself beholding to us all. 

Fourth Cit. ’T were best he speak no harm of 
Brutus here. 

First Cit. This Caesar was a tyrant. 

Third Cit. Nay, that’s certain: 

We are blest that Rome is rid of him. 


56 JULIUS CESAR [Act Three 

Sec. Cit. Peace! let us hear what Antony can say. 
Ant. You gentle Romans, — 

Citizens. Peace, ho! let us hear him. 

Ant. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me 
your ears; 

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. 

The evil that men do lives after them; 

The good is oft interred with their bones; 

So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus 
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious: 

If it were so, it was a grievous fault. 

And grievously hath Caesar answer’d it. 

Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest — 

For Brutus is an honourable man; 

So are they all, all honourable men — 

Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral. 

He was my friend, faithful and just to me: 

But Brutus says he was ambitious; 

And Brutus is an honourable man. 

He hath brought many captives home to Rome, 
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: 

Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? 

When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept: 
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff: 

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; 

And Brutus is an honourable man. 

You all did see that on the Lupercal 
I thrice presented him a kingly crown, 

Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition? 

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; 

And, sure, he is an honourable man. 

I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke. 


Scene TwoJ 


JULIUS CAESAR 


57 


But here I am to speak what I do know. 

You all did love him once, not without cause: 

What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him? 
0 judgement! thou art fled to brutish beasts, 

And men have lost their reason. Bear with me; 

My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, 

And I must pause till it come back to me. 

First Cit. Methinks there is much reason in his 
sayings. 

Sec. Cit. If thou consider rightly of the matter, 
Caesar has had great wrong. 

Third Cit. Has he, masters? 

I fear there will a worse come in his place. 

Fourth Cit. Mark’d ye his words? He would not 
take the crown; 

Therefore’t is certain he was not ambitious. 

First Cit. If it be found so, some will dear abide it. 
Sec. Cit. Poor soul! his eyes are red as fire with 
weeping. 

Third Cit. There’s not a nobler man in Rome 
than Antony. 

Fourth Cit. Now mark him, he begins again to 
speak. 

Ant. But yesterday the word of Caesar might 
Have stood against the world; now lies he there, 
And none so poor to do him reverence. 

O masters, if I were disposed to stir 
Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, 

I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong, 

Who, you all know, are honourable men: 

I will not do them wrong; I rather choose 
To wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you. 


no 


120 


130 


58 


JULIUS CAESAR 


[Act Three 


Than I will wrong such honourable men. 

But here’s a parchment with the seal of Caesar; 

I found it in his closet, ’t is his will: 

Let but the commons hear this testament — 

Which, pardon me, I do not mean to read — 

And they would go and kiss dead Caesar’s wounds 
And dip their napkins in his sacred blood, 

Yea, beg a hair of him for memory, 

And, dying, mention it within their wills. 
Bequeathing it as a rich legacy 
Unto their issue. 

Fourth Cit. We’ll hear the will: read it, Mark 
Antony. 

All. The will, the will! we will hear Caesar’s will. 
Ant. Have patience, gentle friends, I must not 
read it; 

It is not meet you know how Caesar loved you. 

You are not wood, you are not stones, but men; 
And, being men, hearing the will of Caesar, 

It will inflame you, it will make you mad: 

’T is good you know not that you are his heirs; 

For, if you should, O, what would come of it! 

Fourth Cit. Read the will; we’ll hear it, Antony; 
You shall read us the will, Caesar’s will. 

Ant. Will you be patient? will you stay awhile? 
I have o’ershot myself to tell you of it: 

I fear I wrong the honourable men 
Whose daggers have stabb’d Caesar; I do fear it. 
Fourth Cit. They were traitors: honourable men! 
All. The will! the testament! 

Sec. Cit. They were villains, murderers: the 
will! read the will. 


Scene Two] JULIUS C^SAR 59 

Ant. You will compel me, then, to read the will? 
Then make a ring about the corpse of Caesar, 

And let me show you him that made the will. 

Shall I descend? and will you give me leave? 

Several Cit. Come down. 

Sec. Cit. Descend. 

Third Cit. You shall have leave. 

[Antony comes down. 
Fourth Cit. A ring; stand round. 

First Cit. Stand from the hearse, stand from 
the body. 

Sec. Cit. Room for Antony, most noble Antony. 170 
Ant. Nay, press not so upon me; stand far off. 
Several Cit. Stand back; room; bear back. 

Ant. If you have tears, prepare to shed them 
now. 

You all do know this mantle: I remember 
The first time ever Caesar put it on; 

’T was on a summer’s evening, in his tent, 

That day he overcame the Nervii: 

Look, in this place ran Cassius’ dagger through: 

See what a rent the envious Casca made: 

Through this the well-beloved Brutus stabb’d; iso 
And as he pluck’d his cursed steel away, 

Mark how the blood of Caesar follow’d it, 

As rushing out of doors, to be resolved 
If Brutus so unkindly knock’d, or no; 

For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar’s angel: 

Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him! 

This was the most unkindest cut of all; 

For when the noble Caesar saw him stab. 

Ingratitude, more strong than traitor’s arms, 


60 


JULIUS GESAR 


[Act Three 


Quite vanquish’d him: then burst his mighty heart; 190 
And, in his mantle muffling up his face, 

Even at the base of Pompey’s statua, 

Which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell. 

O, what a fall was there, my countrymen! 

Then I, and you, and all of us fell down. 

Whilst bloody treason flourish’d over us. 

O, now you weep; and, I perceive, you feel 
The dint of pity: these are gracious drops. 

Kind souls, what, weep you when you but behold 
Our Caesar’s vesture wounded? Look you here, 200 
Here is himself, marr’d, as you see, with traitors. 

First Cit. O piteous spectacle! 

Sec. Cit. O noble Caesar! 

Third Cit. O woful day! 

Fourth Cit. O traitors, villains! 

First Cit. O most bloody sight! 

Sec. Cit. We will be revenged. 

All. Revenge! About! Seek! Burn! Fire! Kill! 

Slay! Let not a traitor live! 

Ant. Stay, countrymen. 

First Cit. Peace there! hear the noble Antony. 210 
Sec. Cit. We’ll hear him, we’ll follow him, we’ll 
die with him. 

Ant. Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir 
you up 

To such a sudden flood of mutiny. 

They that have done this deed are honourable: 

What private griefs they have, alas, I know not, 

That made them do it: they are wise and hon¬ 
ourable, 

And will, no doubt, with reasons answer you. 


Scene Two] 


JULIUS CAESAR 


61 


I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts: 220 

I am no orator, as Brutus is; 

But, as you know me all, a plain blunt man, 

That love my friend; and that they know full well 
That gave me public leave to speak of him: 

For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth, 

Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech. 

To stir men’s blood: I only speak right on; 

I tell you that which you yourselves do know; 

Show you sweet Caesar’s wounds, poor poor dumb 
mouths, 

And bid them speak for me: but were I Brutus, 230 
And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony 
Would ruffle up your spirits and put a tongue 
In every wound of Caesar that should move 
The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny. 

All. We’ll mutiny. 

First Cit. We ’ll burn the house of Brutus. 

Third Cit. Away, then! come, seek the conspira¬ 
tors. 

Ant. Yet hear me, countrymen; yet hear me 
speak. 

All. Peace, ho! Hear Antony. Most noble 
Antony! 

Ant. Why, friends, you go to do you know not 

what: 240 

Wherein hath Caesar thus deserved your loves? 

Alas, you know not: I must tell you, then: 

You have forgot the will I told you of. 

All. Most true. The will! Let’s stay and hear 
the will. 

Ant. Here is the will, and under Caesar’s seal. 


62 


JULIUS CAESAR 


[Act Three 


To every Roman citizen he gives, 

To every several man, seventy-five drachmas. 

Sec. Cit. Most noble Csesar! We’ll revenge his 
death. 

Third Cit. O royal Csesar! 

Ant. Hear me with patience. 250 

All. Peace, ho! 

Ant. Moreover, he hath left you all his walks. 

His private arbours and new-planted orchards, 

On this side Tiber; he hath left them you, 

And to your heirs for ever, common pleasures, 

To walk abroad, and recreate yourselves. 

Here was a Csesar! when comes such another? 

First Cit. Never, never. Come, away, away! 
We’ll burn his body in the holy place, 

And with the brands fire the traitors’ houses. 260 

Take up the body. 

Sec. Cit. Go fetch fire. 

Third Cit. Pluck down benches. 

Fourth Cit. Pluck down forms, windows, any 
thing. [Exeunt Citizens with the body. 

Ant. Now let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot, 
Take thou what course thou wilt! 

Enter a Servant 

How now, fellow! 

Serv. Sir, Octavius is already come to Rome. 

Ant. Where is he? 

Serv. He and Lepidus are at Csesar’s house. 

Ant. And thither will I straight to visit him: 

He comes upon a wish. Fortune is merry, 

And in this mood will give us any thing. 


270 


Scene Three] JULIUS (LESAR 


63 


Serv. I heard him say, Brutus and Cassius 
Are rid like madmen through the gates of Rome. 

Ant. Belike they had some notice of the people, 
How I had moved them. Bring me to Octavius. 

[Exeunt. 


Scene III — A street 
Enter Cinna the poet 

Cin. I dreamt to-night that I did feast with 
Caesar, 

And things unlucky charge my fantasy: 

I have no will to wander forth of doors, 

Yet something leads me forth. 

Enter Citizens 

First Cit. What is your name? 

Sec. Cit. Whither are you going? 

Third Cit. Where do you dwell? 

Fourth Cit. Are you a married man or a bachelor? 
Sec. Cit. Answer every man directly. 10 

First Cit. Ay, and briefly. 

Fourth Cit. Ay, and wisely. 

Third Cit. Ay, and truly, you were best. 

Cin. What is my name? Whither am I going? 
Where do I dwell? Am I a married man or a bach¬ 
elor? Then, to answer every man directly and 
briefly, wisely and truly: wisely I say, I am a 
bachelor. 

Sec. Cit. That’s as much as to say, they are fools 
that marry: you’ll bear me a bang for that, I fear. 20 
Proceed; directly. 


64 


JULIUS CjESAR 


[Act Four 


Cin. Directly, I am going to Caesar’s funeral. 

First Cit. As a friend or an enemy? 

an. As a friend. 

Sec. at. That matter is answered directly. 

Fourth at. For your dwelling, — briefly. 

an. Briefly, I dwell by the Capitol. 

Third Cit. Your name, sir, truly. 

an. Truly, my name is Cinna. 

First Cit. Tear him to pieces; he’s a conspirator. 

Cin. I am Cinna the poet, I am Cinna the poet. 

Fourth Cit. Tear him for his bad verses, tear him 
for his bad verses. 

Cin. I am not Cinna the conspirator. 

Fourth Cit. It is no matter, his name’s Cinna; 
pluck but his name out of his heart, and turn him 
going. 

Third Cit. Tear him, tear him! Come, brands, 
ho! firebrands: to Brutus’, to Cassius’; burn all: 
some to Decius’ house, and some to Casca’s; some 
to Ligarius’: away, go! [Exeunt. 


ACT IV 

Scene I — A house in Rome 
Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus, seated at a table 

Ant. These many, then, shall die; their names 
are prick’d. 

Oct. Your brother too must die; consent you, 
Lepidus? 

Lep. I do consent, — 



Scene One] 


JULIUS CiESAR 


65 


Prick him down, Antony. 
Lep. Upon condition Publius shall not live, 

Who is your sister’s son, Mark Antony. 

Ant. He shall not live; look, with a spot I damn 
him. 

But, Lepidus, go you to Caesar’s house: 

Fetch the will hither, and we shall determine 
How to cut off some charge in legacies. 

Lep. What, shall I find you here? 1( 

Oct. Or here, or at the Capitol. [Exit Lepidus. 
Ant. This is a slight unmeritable man. 

Meet to be sent on errands: is it fit, 

The three-fold world divided, he should stand 
One of the three to share it? 

So you thought him; 

And took his voice who should be prick’d to die, 

In our black sentence and proscription. 

Ant. Octavius, I have seen more days than you: 
And though we lay these honours on this man. 

To ease ourselves of divers slanderous loads, 20 

He shall but bear them as the ass bears gold. 

To groan and sweat under the business. 

Either led or driven, as we point the way; 

And having brought our treasure where we will, 

Then take we down his load, and turn him off, 

Like to the empty ass, to shake his ears. 

And graze in commons. 

Oct. You may do your will; 

But he’s a tried and valiant soldier. 

Ant. So is my horse, Octavius; and for that 
I do appoint him store of provender: so 

It is a creature that I teach to fight, 


66 


JULIUS CAESAR 


[Act Four 


To wind, to stop, to run directly on, 

His corporal motion govern’d by my spirit. 

And, in some taste, is Lepidus but so; 

He must be taught and train’d and bid go forth; 

A barren-spirited fellow; one that feeds 
On objects, arts, and imitations, 

Which, out of use and staled by other men. 

Begin his fashion: do not talk of him. 

But as a property. And now, Octavius, 

Listen great things:—Brutus and Cassius 

Are levying powers: we must straight make head: 

Therefore let our alliance be combined, 

Our best friends made, and our best means stretch’d out 
And let us presently go sit in council, 

How covert matters may be best disclosed, 

And open perils surest answered. 

Oct. Let us do so: for we are at the stake, 

And bay’d about with many enemies; 

And some that smile have in their hearts, I fear. 
Millions of mischiefs. [Exeunt. 

Scene II — Camp near Sardis. Before Brutus' tent 

Drum. Enter Brutus, Lucilius, Lucius, and Soldiers; 
Titinius and Pindarus meeting them 

Bru. Stand, ho! 

Lucil. Give the word, ho! and stand. 

Bru. What now, Lucilius! is Cassius near? 

Lucil. He is at hand; and Pindarus is come 
To do you salutation from his master. 

Bru. He greets me well. Your master, Pindarus, 
In his own change, or by ill officers, 

1 See passage on Roman arms, page 115 f. 


Scene Two] 


JULIUS CMSAR 


67 


Hath given me some worthy cause to wish 
Things done, undone: but, if he be at hand, 

I shall be satisfied. 

Pin. I do not doubt 

But that my noble master will appear 
Such as he is, full of regard and honour. 

Bru. He is not doubted. [Aside A word, Lucilius; 
How he received you, let me be resolved. 

Lucil. With courtesy and with respect enough; 
But not with such familiar instances, 

Nor with such free and friendly conference, 

As he hath used of old. 

Bru. Thou hast described 

A hot friend cooling: ever note, Lucilius, 

When love begins to sicken and decay, 

It useth an enforced ceremony. 

There are no tricks in plain and simple faith; 

But hollow men, like horses hot at hand. 

Make gallant show and promise of their mettle; 

But when they should endure the bloody spur, 

They fall their crests, and, like deceitful jades. 

Sink in the trial. Comes his army on? 

Lucil. They mean this night in Sardis to be 
quarter’d; 

The greater part, the horse in general, 

Are come with Cassius. 

Bru. Hark! he is arrived. 

March gently on to meet him. [Low march within . 

Enter Cassius and his 'powers 

Cas. Stand, ho! 

Bru. Stand, ho! Speak the word along. 


68 


JULIUS CtESAR 


[Act Four 


First Sol. Stand! 

Sec. Sol. Stand! 

Third Sol. Stand! 

Cas. Most noble brother, you have done me 
wrong. 

Bru. Judge me, you gods! wrong I mine ene¬ 
mies? 

And, if not so, how should I wrong a brother? 

Cas. Brutus, this sober form of yours hides 
wrongs; 

And when you do them — 

Bru. Cassius, be content; 

Speak your griefs softly: I do know you well. 

Before the eyes of both our armies here, 

Which should perceive nothing but love from us, 
Let us not wrangle: bid them move away; 

Then in my tent, Cassius, enlarge your griefs. 

And I will give you audience. 

Cas. Pindarus, 

Bid our commanders lead their charges off 
A little from this ground. 

Bru. Lucilius, do you the like; and let no man 
Come to our tent till we have done our conference. 
Let Lucius and Titinius guard our door. [Exeunt . 

Scene III — Brutus' tent 
Enter Brutus and Cassius 

Cas. That you have wrong’d me doth appear in 
this: 

You have condemn’d and noted Lucius Pella 
For taking bribes here of the Sardians; 


JULIUS CiESAR 


69 


Scene Three] 

Wherein my letters, praying on his side, 

Because I knew the man, were slighted off. 

Bru. You wrong’d yourself to write in such a 
case. 

Cas. In such a time as this it is not meet 
That every nice offence should bear his comment. 

Bru. Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself 
Are much condemn’d to have an itching palm; 

To sell and mart your offices for gold 
To under servers. 

Cas. I an itching palm! 

You know that you are Brutus that speak this. 

Or, by the gods, this speech were else your last. 

Bru. The name of Cassius honours this corrup¬ 
tion, 

And chastisement doth therefore hide his head. 

Cas. Chastisement! 

Bru. Remember March, the ides of March re¬ 
member : 

Did not great Julius bleed for justice’ sake? 

What villain touch’d his body, that did stab, 

And not for justice? What, shall one of us. 

That struck the foremost man of all this world 
But for supporting robbers, shall we now 
Contaminate our fingers with base bribes. 

And sell the mighty space of our large honours 
For so much trash as may be grasped thus? 

I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon, 

Than such a Roman. 

Cas. Brutus, bait not me; 

I ’ll not endure it: you forget yourself. 

To hedge me in; I am a soldier, I, [ 


70 


JULIUS CiESAR 


[Act Four 


Older in practice, abler than yourself 
To make conditions. 

Bru. Go to; you are not, Cassius. 

Cas. I am. 

Bru. I say you are not. 

Cas. Urge me no more, I shall forget myself; 
Have mind upon your health, tempt me no farther. 
Bru. Away, slight man! 

Cas. Is’t possible? 

Bru. Hear me, for I will speak. 

Must I give way and room to your rash choler? 
Shall I be frighted when a madman stares? 

Cas. O ye gods, ye gods! must I endure all this? 
Bru. All this! ay, more: fret till your proud 
heart break; 

Go show your slaves how choleric you are, 

And make your bondmen tremble. Must I budge? 
Must I observe you? must I stand and crouch 
Under your testy humour? By the gods, 

You shall digest the venom of your spleen, 

Though it do split you; for, from this day forth, 
I’ll use you for my mirth, yea, for my laughter, 
When you are waspish. 

Cas. Is it come to this? 

Bru. You say you are a better soldier; 

Let it appear so; make your vaunting true, 

And it shall please me well: for mine own part, 

I shall be glad to learn of noble men. 

Cas. You wrong me every way; you wrong me, 
Brutus; 

I said, an elder soldier, not a better: 

Did I say “better”? 


Scene Three] 


JULIUS CAESAR 


71 


If you did, I care not. 

When Caesar lived, he durst not thus have 
moved me. 

Peace, peace! you durst not so have 
tempted him. 

I durst not! 

No. 

What, durst not tempt him! 

For your life you durst not. 
Do not presume too much upon my love; 
I may do that I shall be sorry for. 

Bru. You have done that you should be sorry 
for. 

There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats, 

For I am arm’d so strong in honesty 
That they pass by me as the idle wind. 

Which I respect not. I did send to you 
For certain sums of gold, which you denied me: 

For I can raise no money by vile means: 

By heaven, I had rather coin my heart, 

And drop my blood for drachmas, than to wring 
From the hard hands of peasants their vile trash 
By any indirection: I did send 
To you for gold to pay my legions, 

Which you denied me: was that done like Cassius? 
Should I have answer’d Caius Cassius so? 

When Marcus Brutus grows so covetous, 

To lock such rascal counters from his friends, 

Be ready, gods, with all your thunderbolts; 

Dash him to pieces! 

Cas. 

Bru. You did. 


Bru. 

Cas. 

Bru. 

Cas. 

Bru. 

Cas. 

Bru. 

Cas. 


I denied you not. 


72 


JULIUS CAESAR 


[Act Four 


Cas. I did not: he was but a fool that brought 
My answer back. Brutus hath rived my heart: 

A friend should bear his friend’s infirmities, 

But Brutus makes mine greater than they are. 

Bru. I do not, till you practice them on me. 

Cas. You love me not. 

Bru. I do not like your faults. 

Cas. A friendly eye could never see such faults. 90 
Bru. A flatterer’s would not, though they do 
appear 

As huge as high Olympus. 

Cas. Come, Antony, and young Octavius, come. 
Revenge yourselves alone on Cassius, 

For Cassius is aweary of the world; 

Hated by one he loves; braved by his brother; 
Check’d like a bondman; all his faults observed, 

Set in a note-book, learn’d, and conn’d by rote, 

To cast into my teeth. O, I could weep 
My spirit from mine eyes! There is my dagger, 100 
And here my naked breast; within, a heart 
Dearer than Plutus’ mine, richer than gold: 

If that thou be’st a Roman, take it forth; 

I, that denied thee gold, will give my heart: 

Strike, as thou didst at Caesar; for, I know, 

When thou didst hate him worse, thou lovedst him 
better 

Than ever thou lovedst Cassius. 

Bru. Sheathe your dagger: 

Be angry when you will, it shall have scope; 

Do what you will, dishonour shall be humour. 

O Cassius, you are yoked with a lamb 
That carries anger as the flint bears fire; 


no 


Scene Three] 


JULIUS CUESAR 


73 


Who, much enforced, shows a hasty spark, 

And straight is cold again. 

^ as ‘ Hath Cassius lived 

To be but mirth and laughter to his Brutus, 

When grief, and blood ill-temper’d, vexeth him? 

When I spoke that, I was ill-temper’d too. 
Do you confess so much? Give me your 
hand. 

And my heart too. 

0 Brutus! 

What’s the matter? 
Have not you love enough to bear with me, 
When that rash humour which my mother gave me 120 
Makes me forgetful? 

Bru. Yes, Cassius; and, from henceforth, 

When you are over-earnest with your Brutus, 

He ’ll think your mother chides, and leave you so. 

Poet. [Within] Let me go in to see the generals; 
There is some grudge between ’em, ’t is not meet 
They be alone. 

Lucil. [Within] You shall not come to them. 

Poet. [ Within ] Nothing but death shall stay me. 

Enter Poet, followed by Lucilius, Titinius, and Lucius 

Cas. How now! what’s the matter? 

Poet . For shame, you generals! what do you 

mean? 130 

Love, and be friends, as two such men should be; 

For I have seen more years, I’m sure, than ye. 

Cas. Ha, ha! how vilely doth this cynic rhyme! 
Bru. Get you hence, sirrah; saucy fellow, hence! 


Bru. 

Cas. 

Bru. 

Cas. 

Bru. 

Cas. 


74 


JULIUS CiESAR 


[Act Four 


Cas. Bear with him, Brutus; ’t is his fashion. 

Bru. I’ll know his humour, when he knows his 
time: 

What should the wars do with these jigging fools? 
Companion, hence! 

Cas. Away, away, be gone! 

[Exit Poet. 

Bru. Lucilius and Titinius, bid the commanders 
Prepare to lodge their companies to-night. 140 

Cas. And come yourselves, and bring Messala 
with you 

Immediately to us. [Exeunt Lucilius and Titinius. 
Bru. Lucius, a bowl of wine! [Exit Lucius. 
Cas. I did not think you could have been so angry. 
Bru. O Cassius, I am sick of many griefs. 

Cas. Of your philosophy l you make no use, 

If you give place to accidental evils. 

Bru. No man bears sorrow better. Portia is dead. 
Cas. Ha! Portia! 

Bru. She is dead. 

Cas. How ’scaped I killing when I cross’d you so ? 150 
O insupportable and touching loss! 

Upon what sickness? 

Bru. Impatient of my absence, 

And grief that young Octavius with Mark Antony 
Have made themselves so strong:—for with her 
death 

That tidings came; — with this she fell distract, 

And, her attendants absent, swallow’d fire. 

Cas. And died so? 

Bru. Even so. 

Cas . O ye immortal gods! 

1 See passage on stoicism, page 117 f. 


Scene Three] 


JULIUS GLSAR 


75 


Re-enter Lucius, with wine and taper 

Bru. Speak no more of her. Give me a bowl of 
wine. 

In this I bury all unkindness, Cassius. 

Cas. My heart is thirsty for that noble pledge. ieo 
Fill, Lucius, till the wine o’erswell the cup; 

I cannot drink too much of Brutus’ love. 

Bru. Come in, Titinius! [Exit Lucius. 

Re-enter Titinius, with Messala 

Welcome, good Messala. 
Now sit we close about this taper here. 

And call in question our necessities. 

Cas. Portia, art thou gone? 

Bru. No more, I pray you. 

Messala, I have here received letters, 

That young Octavius and Mark Antony 
Come down upon us with a mighty power, 

Bending their expedition toward Philippi. m 

Mes. Myself have letters of the selfsame tenour. 

Bru. With what addition? 

Mes. That by proscription and bills of outlawry, 
Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus, 

Have put to death an hundred senators. 

Bru. Therein our letters do not well agree; 

Mine speak of seventy senators that died 
By their proscription, Cicero being one. 

Cas. Cicero one! 

Mes. Cicero is dead, 

And by that order of proscription. iso 

Had you your letters from your wife, my lord? 


76 


JULIUS CESAR 


[Act Four 


Bru. No, Messala. 

Mes. Nor nothing in your letters writ of her? 
Bru. Nothing, Messala. 

M es . That, methinks, is strange, 

Bru. Why ask you? hear you aught of her in 
yours? 

Mes. No, my lord. 

Bru. Now, as you are a Roman, tell me true. 
Mes. Then like a Roman bear the truth I tell: 
For certain she is dead, and by strange manner. 

Bru. Why, farewell, Portia. We must die, 
Messala: 1 

With meditating that she must die once, 

I have the patience to endure it now. 

Mes. Even so great men great losses should 
endure. 

Cas. I have as much of this in art as you, 

But yet my nature could not bear it so. 

Bru. Well, to our work alive. What do you 
think 

Of marching to Philippi presently? 

Cas. I do not think it good. 

j$ ru Your reason? 

Cas. This il is: 

’T is better that the enemy seek us: 

So shall he waste his means, weary his soldiers, 
Doing himself offence; whilst we, lying still, 

Are full of rest, defence, and nimbleness. 

Bru. Good reasons must, of force, give place to 
better. 

The people ’twixt Philippi and this ground 
Do stand but in a forced affection; 


Scene Three] 


JULIUS GFSAR 


77 


For they have grudged us contribution: 

The enemy, marching along by them, 

By them shall make a fuller number up, 

Come on refresh’d, new-added, and encouraged; 

From which advantage shall we cut him off, 21 

If at Philippi we do face him there, 

These people at our back. 

Cas. Hear me, good brother. 

Bru. Under your pardon. You must note beside, 
That we have tried the utmost of our friends, 

Our legions are brim-full, our cause is ripe: 

The enemy increaseth every day; 

We, at the height, are ready to decline. 

There is a tide in the affairs of men, 

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; 
Omitted, all the voyage of their life 221 

Is bound in shallows and in miseries. 

On such a full sea are we now afloat; 

And we must take the current when it serves. 

Or lose our ventures. 

Cas. Then, with your will, go on; 

We’ll along ourselves, and meet them at Philippi. 

Bru. The deep of night is crept upon our talk. 
And nature must obey necessity; 

Which we will niggard with a little rest. 

There is no more to say? 

Cas. No more. Good night: 

Early to-morrow will we rise, and hence. 230 

Bru. Lucius! [Enter Lucius.] My gown. [Exit 
Lucius.] Farewell, good Messala: 

Good night, Titinius. Noble, noble Cassius, 

Good night, and good repose. 


78 JULIUS CdESAR [Act Four 

Cas. O my dear brother! 

This was an ill beginning of the night: 

Never come such division ’tween our souls! 

Let it not, Brutus. 

Bru. Every thing is well. 

Cas. Good night, my lord. 

Bru. Good night, good brother. 

Tit. Mes. Good night, Lord Brutus. 

Bru. Farewell, every one. 

[Exeunt all but Brutus. 

Re-enter Lucius, with the gown 

Give me the gown. Where is thy instrument? 

Luc. Here in the tent. 

Bru. What, thou speak’st drowsily? *40 

Poor knave, I blame thee not; thou art o’erwatch’d. 
Call Claudius and some other of my men; 

I ’ll have them sleep on cushions in my tent. 

Luc. Varro and Claudius! 

Enter Varro and Claudius 
Var. Calls my lord? 

Bru. I pray you, sirs, lie in my tent and sleep; 

It may be I shall raise you by and by 
On business to my brother Cassius. 

Var. So please you, we will stand and watch 
your pleasure. 

Bru. I will not have it so: lie down, good sirs; *50 
It may be I shall otherwise bethink me. 

Look, Lucius, here’s the book I sought for so; 

I put it in the pocket of my gown. 

[Var. and Clau. lie down. 


Scene Three] 


JULIUS GESAR 


79 


Luc. I was sure your lordship did not give it me. 
Bru. Bear with me, good boy, I am much for- 
getful. 

Canst thou hold up thy heavy eyes awhile. 

And touch thy instrument a strain or two? 

Luc. Ay, my lord, an’t please you. 

ru • It does, my boy: 

I trouble thee too much, but thou art willing. 

Luc. It is my duty, sir. < 

Bru. I should not urge thy duty past thy might; 
I know young bloods look for a time of rest. 

Luc. I have slept, my lord, already. 

Bru. It was well done; and thou shalt sleep 
again; 

I will not hold thee long: if I do live, 

I will be good to thee. [Music, and a song. 

This is a sleepy tune. 0 murderous slumber. 

Lay st thou thy leaden mace upon my boy, 

That plays thee music? Gentle knave, good night; 

I will not do thee so much wrong to wake thee: 

If thou dost nod, thou break’st thy instrument; 

I’ll take it from thee; and, good boy, good night. 

Let me see, let me see; is not the leaf turn’d down 
Where I left reading? Here it is, I think. 

Enter the Ghost of Caesar 

How ill this taper burns! Ha! who comes here? 

I think it is the weakness of mine eyes 
That shapes this monstrous apparition. 

It comes upon me. Art thou any thing? 

Art thou some god, some angel, or some devil. 

That makest my blood cold and my hair to stare? 


280 


80 


JULIUS CiESAR 


[Act Four 


Speak to me what thou art. 

Ghost. Thy evil spirit, Brutus. 

Bru. Why comest thou? 

Ghost. To tell thee thou shalt see me at Philippi. 
Bru. Well; then I shall see thee again? 

Ghost. Ay, at Philippi. 

Bru. Why, I will see thee at Philippi, then. 

[Exit Ghost. 

Now I have taken heart thou vanishest: 

Ill spirit, I would hold more talk with thee. 

Boy, Lucius! Yarro! Claudius! Sirs, awake! 290 
Claudius! 

Luc. The strings, my lord, are false. 

Bru. He thinks he still is at his instrument. 

Lucius, awake! 

Luc. My lord? 

Bru. Didst thou dream, Lucius, that thou so 
criedst out? 

Luc. My lord, I do not know that I did cry. 

Bru. Yes, that thou didst: didst thou see any 
thing? 

Luc. Nothing, my lord. 

Bru. Sleep again, Lucius. Sirrah Claudius!300 

[To Var.\ Fellow thou, awake! 

Var. My lord? 

Clau. My lord? 

Bru. Why did you so cry out, sirs, in your 
sleep? 

Var. Clau. Did we, my lord? 

Bru. Ay: saw you any thing? 

Var. No, my lord, I saw nothing. 

Clau. Nor I, my lord. 


Scene One] 


JULIUS CLESAR 


81 


Bru. Go and commend me to my brother Cassius; 
Bid him set on his powers betimes before, 

And we will follow. 

Var. Clau. It shall be done, my lord. 

[Exeunt, 


ACT V 

Scene I — The plains of Philippi 

Enter Octavius, Antony, and their army 

Oct. Now, Antony, our hopes are answered: 
You said the enemy would not come down. 

But keep the hills and upper regions: 

It proves not so: their battles are at hand; 

They mean to warn us at Philippi here. 
Answering before we do demand of them. 

Ant. Tut, I am in their bosoms, and I know 
Wherefore they do it: they could be content 
To visit other places; and come down 
With fearful bravery, thinking by this face 
To fasten in our thoughts that they have courage; 
But’t is not so. 


Enter a Messenger 

Mess. Prepare you, generals: 

The enemy comes on in gallant show; 

Their bloody sign of battle is hung out, 

And something to be done immediately. 

Ant. Octavius, lead your battle softly on. 
Upon the left hand of the even field. 



32 JULIUS CiESAR [Act Five 

Oct. Upon the right hand I; keep thou the left. 
Ant. Why do you cross me in this exigent? 

Oct. I do not cross you; but I will do so. [March. 20 

Drum. Enter Brutus, Cassius, and their army; 
Lucilius, TiTiNiuSj Messala, and others 

Bru. They stand, and would have parley. 

Cas. Stand fast, Titinius: we must out and talk. 
Oct. Mark Antony, shall we give sign of battle? 
Ant. No, Caesar, we will answer on their charge. 
Make forth; the generals would have some words. 
Oct. Stir not until the signal. 

Bru. Words before blows: is it so, countrymen? 
Oct. Not that we love words better, as you 
do. 

Bru. Good words are better than bad strokes, 
Octavius. 

Ant. In your bad strokes, Brutus, you give good 
words: 

Witness the hole you made in Caesar’s heart. 

Crying “ Long live! hail, Caesar! ” 

Cas. Antony, 

The posture of your blows are yet unknown; 

But for your words, they rob the Hybla bees. 

And leave them honeyless. 

Ant. Not stingless too? 

Bru. O, yes, and soundless too; 

For you have stol’n their buzzing, Antony, 

And very wisely threat before you sting. 

Ant. Villains, you did not so, when your vile 
daggers 

Hack’d one another in the sides of Caesar: 


40 


Scene One] 


JULIUS CiESAR 


83 


You show’d your teeth like apes, and fawn’d like 
hounds, 

And bow’d like bondmen, kissing Caesar’s feet; 

Whilst damned Casca, like a cur, behind 
Struck Caesar on the neck. O you flatterers! 

Cas. Flatterers! Now, Brutus, thank yourself: 
This tongue had not offended so to-day, 

If Cassius might have ruled. 

Oct. Come, come, the cause: if arguing make us 
sweat, 

The proof of it will turn to redder drops. 

Look; so 

I draw a sword against conspirators; 

When think you that the sword goes up again? 

Never, till Caesar’s three and thirty wounds 
Be well avenged; or till another Caesar 
Have added slaughter to the sword of traitors. 

Bru. Caesar, thou canst not die by traitors’ hands, 
Unless thou bring’st them with thee. 

Oct. So I hope; 

I was not born to die on Brutus’ sword. 

Bru. O, if thou wert the noblest of thy strain. 
Young man, thou couldst not die more honourable. 60 
Cas. A peevish schoolboy, worthless of such 
honour, 

Join’d with a masker and a reveler! 

Ant. Old Cassius still! 

Oct. Come, Antony, away! 

Defiance, traitors, hurl we in your teeth: 

If you dare fight to-day, come to the field; 

If not, when you have stomachs. 

[Exeunt Octavius , Antony , and their army. 


84 JULIUS C/ESAR [Act Five 

Cas. Why, now, blow wind, swell billow and 
swim bark! 

The storm is up, and all is on the hazard. 

Bru. Ho, Lucilius! hark, a word with you. 
Lucil. [Standing forth] My lord? 

[Brutus and Lucilius converse apart. 
Cas. Messala! 

Mes. [Standing forth] What says my general? 
Cas. Messala, 

This is my birth-day; as this very day 

Was Cassius born. Give me thy hand, Messala: 

Be thou my witness that against my will, 

As Pompey was, am I compell’d to set 
Upon one battle all our liberties. 

You know that I held Epicurus strong 
And his opinion: now I change my mind. 

And partly credit things that do presage. 

Coming from Sardis, on our former ensign 
Two mighty eagles fell, and there they perch’d, 
Gorging and feeding from our soldiers’ hands; 
Who to Philippi here consorted us: 

This morning are they fled away and gone; 

And in their steads do ravens, crows, and kites, 

Fly o’er our heads and downward look on us, 

As we were sickly prey: their shadows seem 

A canopy most fatal, under which 

Our army lies, ready to give up the ghost. 

Mes. Believe not so. 

Cas. I but believe it partly; 

For I am fresh of spirit and resolved 
To meet all perils very constantly. 

Bru. Even so, Lucilius. 


Scene One] 


JULIUS CUES A R 


85 


C as - Now, most noble Brutus, 

The gods to-day stand friendly! that we may, 

Lovers in peace, lead on our days to age! 

But since the affairs of men rest still incertain. 

Let’s reason with the worst that may befall. 

If we do lose this battle, then is this 
The very last time we shall speak together: 

What are you then determined to do? 100 

Bru. Even by the rule of that philosophy 
By which I did blame Cato for the death 
Which he did give himself, I know not how. 

But I do find it cowardly and vile. 

For fear of what might fall, so to prevent 
The time of life: arming myself with patience 
To stay the providence of some high powers 
That govern us below. 

Cas. Then, if we lose this battle, 

You are contented to be led in triumph 
Thorough the streets of Rome? no 

Bru. No, Cassius, no: think not, thou noble 
Roman, 

That ever Brutus will go bound to Rome; 

He bears too great a mind. But this same day 
Must end that work the ides of March begun; 

And whether we shall meet again I know not. 
Therefore our everlasting farewell take: 

For ever, and for ever, farewell, Cassius! 

If we do meet again, why, we shall smile; 

If not, why then, this parting was well made. 

Cas. For ever, and for ever, farewell, Brutus! 12& 
If we do meet again, we’ll smile indeed; 

If not, ’t is true this parting was well made. 


86 JULIUS CUESAR [Act Five 

Bru. Why, then, lead on. O, that a man might 
know 

The end of this day’s business ere it come! 

But it sufficeth that the day will end, 

And then the end is known. "Come, ho! away! 

[Exeunt. 

Scene II — The same. Thejield of battle 
Alarum. Enter Brutus and Mess ala 

Bru. Ride, ride, Messala, ride, and give these bills 
Unto the legions on the other side. [Loud alarum. 
Let them set on at once; for I perceive 
But cold demeanour in Octavius’ wing, 

And sudden push gives them the overflow. 

Ride, ride, Messala: let them all come down. [Exeunt., 

Scene III — Another part of the field 
Alarums. Enter Cassius and Titinius 

Cas. O, look, Titinius, look, the villains fly! 
Myself have to mine own turn’d enemy: 

This ensign here of mine was turning back; 

I slew the coward, and did take it from him. 

Tit. O Cassius, Brutus gave the word too early; 
Who, having some advantage on Octavius, 

Took it too eagerly: his soldiers fell to spoil, 

Whilst we by Antony are all enclosed. 

Enter Pindarus 

Pin. Fly further off, my lord, fly further off; 
Mark Antony is in your tents, my lord: 

Fly, therefore, noble Cassius, fly far off. 


Scene Thbee] 


JULIUS CAESAR 


87 


Cas. This hill is far enough. Look, look, Titinius; 
Are those my tents where I perceive the fire? 

Tit. They are, my lord. 

Cas. Titinius, if thou lovest me. 

Mount thou my horse, and hide thy spurs in him. 
Till he have brought thee up to yonder troops. 

And here again; that I may rest assured 
Whether yond troops are friend or enemy. 

Tit. I will be here again, even with a thought. 

[Exit. 

Cas. Go, Pindarus, get higher on that hill; 

My sight was ever thick; regard Titinius, 

And tell me what thou no test about the field. 

[Pindarus ascends the hill. 
This day I breathed first: time is come round. 

And where I did begin, there shall I end; 

My life is run his compass. Sirrah, what news? 
Pin. [Above] O my lord! 

Cas. What news? 

Pin. [Above] Titinius is enclosed round about 
With horsemen, that make to him on the spur; 

Yet he spurs on. Now they are almost on him. 
Now, Titinius! Now some light. O, he lights too. 
He’s ta’en. [Shout.] And, hark! they shout 
for joy. 

Cas. Come down, behold no more. 

O, coward that I am, to live so long, 

To see my best friend ta’en before my face! 

Pindarus descends 
Come hither, sirrah: 

In Parthia did I take thee prisoner; 


88 


JULIUS GESAR 


[Act Five 


And then I swore thee, saving of thy life, 

That whatsoever I did bid thee do, 

Thou shouldst attempt it. Come now, keep thine 
oath; 

Now be a freeman: and with this good sword, 

That ran through Caesar’s bowels, search this bosom. 
Stand not to answer: here, take thou the hilts; 
And, when my face is cover’d, as’t is now, 

Guide thou the sword. [Pindarus stabs him.] Caesar, 
thou art revenged, 

Even with the sword that kill’d thee. [Dies. 

Pin. So, I am free; yet would not so have been, 
Durst I have done my will. O Cassius, 

Far from this country Pindarus shall run, 

Where never Roman shall take note of him. [Exit. 

Re-enter Titnius with Messala 

Mes. It is but change, Titinius; for Octavius 
Is overthrown by noble Brutus’ power. 

As Cassius’ legions are by Antony. 

Tit. These tidings will well comfort Cassius. 

Mes. Where did you leave him? 

Tit. All disconsolate, 

With Pindarus his bondman, on this hill. 

Mes. Is not that he that lies upon the ground? 
Tit. He lies not like the living. O my heart! 
Mes. Is not that he? 

Tit, No, this was he, Messala, 

But Cassius is no more. O setting sun, 

As in thy red rays thou dost sink to night, 

So in his red blood Cassius’ day is set; 

The sun of Rome is set! Our day is gone; 


Scene Three] JULIUS CiESAR 


89 


Clouds, dews, and dangers come; our deeds are done! 
Mistrust of my success hath done this deed. 

Mes. Mistrust of good success hath done this 
deed. 

O hateful error, melancholy’s child, 

Why dost thou show to the apt thoughts of men 
The things that are not? O error, soon conceived, 
Thou never comest unto a happy birth, 

But kill’st the mother that engender’d thee! 

Tit. What, Pindarus! where art thou, Pindarus? 
Mes. Seek him, Titinius, whilst I go to meet 
The noble Brutus, thrusting this report 
Into his ears; I may say, thrusting it; 

For piercing steel and darts envenomed 
Shall be as welcome to the ears of Brutus 
As tidings of this sight. 

Tit. Hie you, Messala, 

And I will seek for Pindarus the while. 

[Exit Messala. 

Why didst thou send me forth, brave Cassius? 

Did I not meet thy friends? and did not they 
Put on my brows this wreath of victory, 

And bid me give it thee? Didst thou not hear their 
shouts? 

Alas, thou hast misconstrued every thing! 

But, hold thee, take this garland on thy brow; 

Thy Brutus bid me give it thee, and I 
Will do his bidding. Brutus, come apace, 

And see how I regarded Caius Cassius. 

By your leave, gods: — this is a Roman’s part: 
Come, Cassius’ sword, and find Titinius’ heart. 

[Kills himself. 


90 


JULIUS UFSAR 


[Act Five 


Alarum. Re-enter Messala, with Brutus, young Cato, 
Strato, Volumnius, and Lucilius 

Bru. Where, where, Messala, doth his body lie? 
Mes. Lo, yonder, and Titinius mourning it. 

Bru. Titinius’ face is upward. 

Cato. He is slain. 

Bru. O Julius Csesar, thou art mighty yet! 

Thy spirit walks abroad, and turns our swords 
In our own proper entrails. [Low alarums. 

Cato. Brave Titinius! 

Look, whether he have not crown’d dead Cassius! 

Bru. Are yet two Romans living such as these? 
The last of all the Romans, fare thee well! 

It is impossible that ever Rome 100 

Should breed thy fellow. Friends, I owe moe tears 
To this dead man than you shall see me pay. 

I shall find time, Cassius, I shall find time. 

Come, therefore, and to Thasos send his body: 

His funerals shall not be in our camp, 

Lest it discomfort us. Lucilius, come; 

And come, young Cato; let us to the field. 

Labeo and Flavius set our battles on: 

’T is three o’clock; and, Romans, yet ere night 
We shall try fortune in a second fight. [Exeunt, no 

Scene IV —Another part ofthejield 

Alarum. Enter Jlghting. Soldiers of both armies; then 
Brutus, young Cato, Lucilius, and others 

Bru. Yet, countrymen, O, yet hold up your heads! 
Cato. What bastard doth not? Who will go with 
me? 


Scene Four] 


JULIUS CiESAR 


91 


I will proclaim my name about the field: 

I am the son of Marcus Cato, ho! 

A foe to tyrants, and my country’s friend; 

I am the son of Marcus Cato, ho! 

Bru. And I am Brutus, Marcus Brutus, I; 
Brutus, my country’s friend; know me for Brutus \ 

[Exit. 

Lucil. 0 young and noble Cato, art thou down? 
Why, now thou diest as bravely as Titinius; 

And mayst be honour’d, being Cato’s son. 

First Sold. Yield, or thou diest. 

Lucil. Only I yield to die: 

There is so much that thou wilt kill me straight; 

[Offering money. 

Kill Brutus, and be honour’d in his death. 

First Sold. We must not. A noble prisoner! 
Sec. Sold. Boom, ho! Tell Antony, Brutus is 
ta’en. 

First Sold. I’ll tell the news. Here comes the 
general. 

Enter Antony 

Brutus is ta’en, Brutus is ta’en, my lord. 

Ant. Where is he? 

Lucil. Safe, Antony; Brutus is safe enough: 

I dare assure thee that no enemy 
Shall ever take alive the noble Brutus: 

The gods defend him from so great a shame! 

When you do find him, or alive or dead, 

He will be found like Brutus, like himself. 

Ant. This is not Brutus, friend; but, I assure 
you, 


92 


JULIUS CiESAk 


[Act Five 


A prize no less in worth: keep this man safe; 

Give him all kindness: I had rather have 
Such men my friends than enemies. Go on, 

And see whether Brutus be alive or dead; 

And bring us word unto Octavius’ tent 

How every thing is chanced. [Exeunt. 

Scene V. — Another part of the field 

Enter Brutus, Dardanius, Clitus, Strato, and 
VoLUMNIUS 

Bru. Come, poor remains of friends, rest on this 
rock. 

Cli. Statilius show’d the torch-light, but, my 
lord, 

He came not back: he is or ta’en or slain. 

Bru. Sit thee down, Clitus: slaying is the 
word; 

It is a deed in fashion. Hark thee, Clitus. 

[Whispers. 

Cli. What, I, my lord? No, not for all the world. 
Bru. Peace then! no words. 

Cli. I’ll rather kill myself. 

Bru. Hark thee, Dardanius. [Whispers. 

Bar. Shall I do such a deed? 

Cli. O Dardanius! 

Bar. O Clitus! 

Cli. What ill request did Brutus make to thee? 
Bar. To kill him, Clitus. Look, he meditates. 
Cli. Now is that noble vessel full of grief. 

That it runs over even at his eyes. 

Bru. Come hither, good Volumnius; list a word. 


Scene Five] 


JULIUS CiESAR 


93 


Vol. What says my lord? 

Bru. Why, this, Volumnius: 

The ghost of Csesar hath appear’d to me 
Two several times by night; at Sardis once, 

And, this last night, here in Philippi fields: 

I know my hour is come. 

Vol. Not so, my lord. 20 

Bru. Nay, I am sure it is, Volumnius. 

Thou seest the world, Volumnius, how it goes; 

Our enemies have beat us to the pit: [Low alarums. 

It is more worthy to leap in ourselves. 

Than tarry till they push us. Good Voluminus, 

Thou know’st that we two went to school together: 
Even for that our love of old, I prithee, 

Hold thou my sword-hilts, whilst I run on it. 

Vol. That’s not an office for a friend, my lord. 

[Alarum still. 

Cli. Fly, fly, my lord; there is no tarrying here. 30 
Bru. Farewell to you; and you; and you, Vol- 
umnius. 

Strato, thou hast been all this while asleep; 

Farewell to thee too, Strato. Countrymen, 

My heart doth joy that yet in all my life 
I found no man but he was true to me. 

I shall have glory by this losing day 
More than Octavius and Mark Antony 
By this vile conquest shall attain unto. 

So fare you well at once; for Brutus’ tongue 
Hath almost ended his life’s history: 40 

Night hangs upon mine eyes; my bones would rest, 
That have but labour’d to attain this hour. 

[Alarum. Cry within, “Fly, fly, fly!” 


94 


JULIUS CiESAR 


[Act Five 


Cli. Fly, my lord, fly. 

Bru. Hence! I will follow. 

[Exeunt Clitus , Dardanius, and Volumnius . 
I prithee, Strato, stay thou by thy lord: 

Thou art a fellow of a good respect; 

Thy life hath had some smatch of honour in it: 
Hold then my sword, and turn away thy face, 
While I do run upon it. Wilt thou, Strato? 

Stra. Give me your hand first. Fare you well, 
my lord. 

Bru . Farewell, good Strato. [Runs on his sword.] 
Csesar, now be still: 

I kill’d not thee with half so good a will. [Dies. 

Alarum. Retreat. Enter Octavius, Antony, Mes- 
sala, Lucilius, and the army 

Oct. What man is that? 

Mes. My master’s man. Strato, where is thy 
master? 

Stra. Free the bondage you are in, Messala: 
The conquerors can but make a fire of him; 

For Brutus only overcame himself, 

And no man else hath honour by his death. 

Lucil. So Brutus should be found. I thank thee, 
Brutus, 

That thou hast proved Lucilius’ saying true. 

Oct. All that served Brutus, I will entertain them. 
Fellow, wilt thou bestow thy time with me? 

Stra. Ay, if Messala will prefer me to you. 

Oct. Do so, good Messala. 

Mes. How died my master, Strato? 

Stra. I held the sword, and he did run on it. 



Scene Five] JULIUS CdESAR 95 

Mes. Octavius, then take him to follow thee, 

That did the latest service to my master. 

Ant. This was the noblest Roman of them all: 

All the conspirators save only he 

Did that they did in envy of great Caesar; 70 

He only, in a general honest thought 

And common good to all, made one of them. 

His life was gentle, and the elements 
So mix’d in him that Nature might stand up 
And say to all the world “This was a man!” 

Oct. According to his virtue let us use him, 

With all respect and rites of burial. 

Within my tent his bones to-night shall lie. 

Most like a soldier, order’d honourably. 

So call the field to rest; and let’s away, so 

To part the glories of this happy day. [Exeunt 


Captives and Trophies in a Roman Triumph 






bU. WILLI AM 


COMEDIES, 
HISTORIES, & 
TRAGEDIES. 


ETA 


1 0 PC v o X 

Printed by Ifaac laggard, and Ed. BImint. i 6 z 


Frontispiece to First Folio 





I. ROME IN ITS GLORY AND EARLY 
DECAY 1 


1 . The Training of Roman Nobles in the Best Period 
of the Republic. Amid austere surroundings the young 
Roman of good family grew up. Reared in the stern 
unchallenged discipline of home, he willingly attended 
his father as he went through the duties and occupations 
of the day. Thus he learned by actual observation at 
an impressionable age what things were enjoined or 
forbidden by ancestral custom. The exact formalities of 
sacrifices, the dates of festivals,The order of proceedings 
in the various assemblies, the competence of the various 
magistrates, the usages of the law courts, the forms of 
buying and selling and contracts, the episodes of the 
registration if a census was being held, or of the military 
levy if preparations were on foot for a campaign; these 
and many other matters would from time to time be 
present to his eager eyes and ears. He would ask ques¬ 
tions and receive explanations; and by the time he 
was himself of age to begin his public career, he would 
have acquired a considerable store of experience and 
precedent. 

As he laid aside the games of childhood, his chief 
sports were running and riding on horseback in the 
Campus Martius and swimming in the Tiber. With the 
completion of his sixteenth year he became a man of 
military age (, juvenis ), liable to be called out for service. 
From this time onward he remained a servant of the 
state, first as a soldier, later in a civil capacity. His 

1 Extracts from William Stearns Davis’s Rome and the West, by 
kind permission of Allyn and Bacon. 

97 


98 SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

ambition was to be a Roman of the Romans, to excel in 
representing a type of which he and his comrades were 
not unreasonably proud. And the nobles of this best 
period, judged from this point of view, were as a ride 
efficient and sturdy patriots, worthy of the support of the 
sound Roman people, the farmers of the country-side. 

In short, the training of the men who led Rome was 
good and practical within its own narrow range. It 
served to build up the Roman power at home; it suf¬ 
ficed for the conquest of Italy; but it broke down when 
the complicated problems of a great world empire were 
thrust upon the republic. 

2 . The Death Struggle with Carthage. Almost no 
wars in history rise to the importance of the “Punic 
Wars” between Rome and Carthage. If Rome had 
been ruined soon after she united Italy under her sway, 
if the task of civilizing Spain, Gaul, Rritain had been 
intrusted to the merchant princes and the priests of Raal 
of the great Semitic city of Africa, here again — as of 
the Persian Wars — one may say history would have 
been so altered that it is waste of time to conjecture 
what might have emerged. Not merely did Rome de¬ 
stroy Carthage, but in the tremendous military effort 
involved she developed an army system which made her 
subsequent conquest of the discordant Hellenistic 
kingdoms mere child’s play. The victory of Zama 
carried with it by implication the victories of Cynos- 
cephalse, Magnesia, Pydna, Corinth, and the great 
battles won over Mithridates. 

In the Punic Wars we see the Roman national 
genius at its best. Rrilliant individual leaders are few 
or none. Even Scipio the Elder barely rises to the rank 
of genuine rival to Hannibal. Rut the spirit of the Ro¬ 
man people is superb. The courage and wisdom of the 


ROME IN GLORY AND DECAY 


99 


Senate in the great crises marks the Roman nobility on 
the whole as the ablest aristocracy the world has ever 
seen. We know that Rome conquered because she 
deserved to conquer, and no admiration naturally 
evoked for the dauntless achievements of Hannibal can 
destroy our greater admiration for the race of hard- 
headed, hard-handed Italian farmers, who never 
quailed at any disaster, who never “despaired of the 
republic,” who never counted treasure or effort or life 
too dear for the patria. 

To one fact our study of merely military details must 
not make us blind. Rome was victorious, but at an 
exceedingly heavy price. Tens of thousands of her 
youth had perished. Industry, agriculture, and com¬ 
merce had been nigh ruined throughout the peninsula. 
An undue accent had been laid upon the war virtues, 
so that it must have been exceedingly hard for very 
many Italians to settle down again to the quiet arts of 
peace. If the wars, however, had almost ruined the 
hardy country yeomanry, they had brought easily won 
riches to many of the aristocracy, who would be anxious 
for new wars, commands, and pillagings. The direct 
result of the Punic Wars was the conquests in the East 
and the extension of the Roman provincial system 
around the Mediterranean; but the period of civil 
war and of painful reconstruction which followed these 
conquests was likewise almost as truly the result of the 
great struggle with Carthage. 

3 . The Agrarian Situation in Italy in 133 b.c. The 
Romans, while they subdued one after another of the 
peoples of Italy, used to confiscate part of their lands, 
and build towns thereon, or established their own col¬ 
onies in those already in existence, and used them in 
place of garrisons. Of the land acquired by war they 


100 SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

granted the cultivated part promptly to settlers, or 
leased it, or sold it outright. Since they had no leisure, 
as yet, to allot the part which then lay desolated by 
war, usually the major part, they would proclaim that in 
the interval those who wished to till it might do so for a 
share of the yearly crops — a tenth of the grain and a 
fifth of the fruit. Herdsmen had to give a share of their 
animals, both oxen and small cattle. This policy was 
followed to multiply the Italian race, which they reck¬ 
oned the most laborious of the peoples, in order to have 
plenty of allies at home. 

The very opposite thing, however, happened; for 
the wealthy, getting hold of the greater part of the un¬ 
distributed lands, growing bold by lapse of time and 
thinking they would never be ousted, added to their 
original holdings the small farms of their poor neigh¬ 
bors. This they did partly by purchase, yet partly by 
force; and so they cultivated vast tracts of land in lieu 
of mere private estates. To work them, they used slaves 
as farm hands and herdsmen, lest free laborers should 
be forced to quit farm work for the army. The owner¬ 
ship of slaves brought huge profit from the multitude 
of the children of the slaves, who increased because 
they were exempt from army service. Thus the mag¬ 
nates became marvelously rich, and the race of slaves 
multiplied through the land, while the free folk of Italy 
dwindled alike in numbers and power, ground down as 
they were by poverty, taxation, and constant service 
in the army. If any relaxation from these evils came, 
they passed their time in sheer idleness; for the land 
was in the clutches of the rich, who employed slaves as 
farm hands, not freemen. 

These were the reasons why the people became at last 
troubled, lest they should no longer have enough allies 


ROME IN GLORY AND DECAY 101 


of the Italian stock and lest the very government 
should be in danger by such a horde of slaves. They did 
not see any real remedy, for it was not easy, nay, it was 
hardly just, to deprive men of such large holdings which 
they had kept so long and which included the holder’s 
own trees, buildings, and fixtures. Once, indeed, a law 
had been passed on the motion of the tribunes, forbid¬ 
ding any one to hold more than five hundred jugera 
(about three hundred thirty acres) of this public land, 
or pasture upon it more than one hundred cattle or 
five hundred sheep. To insure the observance of this 
law there must be a certain number of freemen kept 
upon the farms, whose business was to watch and report 
proceedings thereon. Persons holding public lands 
under the law were bound to swear to obey it, and pen¬ 
alties were laid for violation thereof. It was presumed 
that the rest of the public land would soon be divided 
in small lots among the poor. But not the least heed 
was paid to the law or the oaths. The few who seemed 
to respect them somewhat, conveyed their surplus lands 
to their relatives fraudulently; the majority disregarded 
them altogether. At last Tiberius Gracchus arose in 
protest. 


II. ANECDOTES OF JULIUS CAESAR AS 
REPORTED BY HIS BIOGRAPHER 
PLUTARCH 1 

He then hastened to sea, and sailed to Bithyma, 
where he sought protection of Nicomedes the king. 
His stay, however, with him, was not long. He reem- 
barked, and was taken, near the isle of Pharmacusa, by 
pirates, who were masters of that sea, and blocked up 
all the’ passages with a number of galleys and other 
vessels. They asked him only twenty talents for his 
ransom. He laughed at their demand, as the conse¬ 
quence of their not knowing him, and promised them 
fifty talents. To raise the money, he despatched his 
people to different cities, and in the mean time remained 
with only one friend and two attendants among these 
Cilicians, who considered murder as a trifle. Caesar, 
however, held them in great contempt, and used to send, 
whenever he went to sleep, and order them to keep si¬ 
lence. Thus he lived among them thirty-eight days, 
as if they had been his guards, rather than his keepers. 
Perfectly fearless and secure, he joined in their diver¬ 
sions and took his exercises among them. He wrote 
poems and orations and rehearsed them to these pirates; 
and when they expressed no admiration, he called them 
dunces and barbarians; nay, he often threatened to 
crucify them. They were delighted with these freedoms, 
which they imputed to his frank and facetious vein. 
But as soon as the money was brought from Miletus 
and he recovered his liberty, he manned some vessels 
in the port of Miletus, in order to attack these corsairs. 

i Langhorne translation. 

102 


ANECDOTES FROM PLUTARCH 


103 


He found them still lying at anchor by the island, took 
most of them, together with the money, and imprisoned 
them at Pergamus. After which he applied to Junius, 
who then commanded in Asia, because to him as praetor 
it belonged to punish them. Junius having an eye upon 
the money, which was a considerable sum, demurred 
about the matter; and Caesar, perceiving his intention, 
returned to Pergamus and crucified all the prisoners, 
as he had often threatened to do at Pharmacusa, when 
they took him to be in jest. 

Cicero seems to be the first who suspected something 
formidable from the flattering calm of Caesar’s political 
conduct, and saw deep and dangerous designs under the 
smiles of his benignity. “I perceive,” said the orator, 
“an inclination for tyranny in all he projects and exe¬ 
cutes; but, on the other hand, when I see him adjusting 
his hair with so much exactness, and scratching his head 
with one finger, I can hardly think that such a man can 
conceive so vast and fatal a design as the destruction 
of the Roman commonwealth.” 

It is said that, when he came to a little town in passing 
the Alps, his friends by way of mirth took occasion to 
say, “ Can there here be any disputes for offices, any con¬ 
tentions for precedency, or such envy and ambition as 
we see among the great?” To which Caesar answered 
with great seriousness, “I assure you I had rather be 
the first man here than the second man in Rome.” 

He was a good horseman in his early years and 
brought that exercise to such perfection by practice 
that he could sit a horse at full speed with his hands 
behind him. In this expedition he also accustomed 
himself to dictate letters as he rode on horseback and 
found sufficient employment for two secretaries at once, 
or according to Oppius, for more. 


104 SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

Meantime, Caesar, not having a sufficient force at 
Apollonia to make head against the enemy and seeing 
the troops at Brundusium delayed to join him, to re¬ 
lieve himself from the anxiety and perplexity he was in, 
undertook a most astonishing enterprise. Though the 
sea was covered with the enemy’s fleets, he resolved to 
embark in a vessel of twelve oars, without acquainting 
any person with his intention, and sail to Brundusium. 
In the night, therefore, he took the habit of a slave and, 
throwing himself into the vessel like a man of no ac¬ 
count, sat there in silence. They fell down the river 
Anias for the sea, where the entrance is generally easy, 
because the land wind, rising in the morning, used to 
beat off the waves of the sea and smooth the mouth of 
the river: but unluckily that night a strong sea wind 
sprung up which overpowered that from the land, 
so that, by the rage of the sea and the counteraction of 
the stream, the river became extremely rough; the 
waves dashed against each other with a tumultuous 
noise and formed such dangerous eddies that the pilot 
despaired of making good his passage and ordered the 
mariners to turn back. Caesar, perceiving this, rose up 
and showing himself to the pilot, who was greatly as¬ 
tonished at the sight of him, said, “Go forward, my 
friend, and fear nothing; thou earnest Caesar and his 
fortune.” The mariners then forgot the storm and, 
plying their oars with the utmost vigor and alacrity, 
endeavored to overcome the resistance of the waves: 
but such was their violence at the mouth of the river, 
and the water flowed so fast into the vessel, that Caesar 
at last, though with great reluctance, permitted the 
pilot to turn back. Upon his return to his camp, the 
soldiers met him in crowds, pouring out their complaints 
and expressing the greatest concern that he did not as- 


ANECDOTES FROM PLUTARCH 105 


sure himself of conquering with them only, but, in 
distrust of their support gave himself so much uneasiness 
and exposed his person to so much danger, on account 
of the absent. 

Caesar immediately marched against Pharnaces with 
three legions and defeated him in a great battle near 
Zela, which deprived him of the kingdom of Pontus, 
as well as ruined his whole army. In the account he 
gave Amintius, one of his friends in Rome, of the rapidity 
and despatch with which he gained his victory, he made 
use only of three words, “I came, I saw, I conquered” 
(Veni, vidi, vici). Their having all the same form and 
termination in the Roman language adds grace to their 
conciseness. 

One day when Caesar’s cavalry had nothing else to do, 
they diverted themselves with an African who danced 
and played upon the flute with great perfection. They 
had left their horses to the care of boys and sat attending 
to the entertainment with great delight, when the 
enemy, coming upon them at once, killed part and 
entered the camp with others, who fled with great pre¬ 
cipitation. Had not Caesar himself and Asinius Pollio 
come to their assistance and stopped their flight, the 
war would have been at an end that hour. In another 
engagement, the enemy had the advantage again; on 
which occasion it was that Caesar took an ensign, who 
was running away, by the neck, and making him face 
about, said, “Look on this side for the enemy.” 

His friends pressed him to have a guard, and many 
offered to serve in that capacity, but he would not 
suffer it; for he said, “ It was better to die once, than to 
live always in fear of death.” He esteemed the affec¬ 
tion of the people the most honorable and the safest 
guard and therefore endeavored to gain them by feasts 


106 


SUPPLEMENTARY READING 


and distributions of corn, as he did the soldiers by plac¬ 
ing them in agreeable colonies. 

Csesar, too, had some suspicion of Cassius, and he 
even said one day to his friends, “What think you of 
Cassius? I do not like his pale looks.” Another time, 
when Antony and Dolabella were accused of some 
designs against his person and government, he said, 
“I have no apprehensions from those fat and sleek men; 
I rather fear the pale and lean ones,” meaning Cassius 
and Brutus. 

Caesar died at the age of fifty-six, and did not survive 
Pompey above four years. His object was sovereign 
power and authority, which he pursued through in¬ 
numerable dangers, and by prodigious efforts gained 
it at last; but he reaped no other fruit from it than an 
empty and invidious title. It is true, the Divine Power 
which conducted him through life attended him after 
his death, as his avenger pursued and haunted out the 
assassins over sea and land, and rested not till there 
was not a man left, either of those who dipped their 
hands in his blood, or of those who gave their sanction 
to the deed. 


III. SOME MISCELLANIES 
a . The Triumph of Pompey 1 

Pompey’s great triumph, on his return from his 
numerous military victories, is thus pictured by the 
ancient writer Appian: 

As he approached the city he was met by successive 
processions, first of youths, farthest from the city; then 
bands of men of different ages came out as far as they 
severally could walk; last of all came the Senate, which 
was lost in wonder at his exploits, for no one had ever 
before vanquished so powerful an enemy and at the same 
time brought so many great nations under subjection 
and extended the Roman rule to the Euphrates. 

He was awarded a triumph exceeding in brilliancy 
any that had gone before. It occupied two successive 
days; and many nations were represented in the pro¬ 
cession from Pontus, Armenia, Cappadocia, Cilicia, all 
the peoples of Syria, besides Albanians, Heniochi, 
Achseans, Scythians, and eastern Iberians; seven 
hundred complete ships were brought into the harbor. 
In the triumphal procession were two-horse carriages 
and litters laden with gold or with other ornaments of 
various kinds; also the couch of Darius, the son of 
Hystaspes; the throne and scepter of Mithridates 
Eupator himself, and his image, eight cubits high, made 
of solid gold, and 75,000,000 drachmae of silver coin 
(about $13,500,000). The number of wagons carrying 
arms was infinite; as was the number of prows of ships. 
After these came the multitude of captives and pirates, 

i See the play, I, i, 47 f. 

107 


108 SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

none of them bound, but all arrayed in their native 
costume. 

Before Pompey himself were led the satraps, sons, and 
generals of the kings against whom he had fought, 
some having been captured, some given as hostages to 
the number of three hundred twenty-four. Among 
them were five sons of Mithridates, and two daughters; 
also Aristobulus, king of the Jews; the tyrants of the 
Cilicians, and other potentates. 

There were carried in the procession images of those 
who were not present, of Tigranes, king of Armenia, and 
of Mithridates, representing them as fighting, as van¬ 
quished, and as fleeing. Even the besieging of Mith¬ 
ridates and his silent flight by night were represented. 
Finally, it was shown how he died, and the daughters 
who perished with him were pictured also; and there 
were figures of the sons and daughters who died before 
him, and images of the barbarian gods decked out in 
the fashion of their countries. A tablet was borne also, 
inscribed thus: 

SHIPS WITH BRAZEN BEAKS CAPTURED 
DCCC : 

CITIES FOUNDED IN CAPPADOCIA VIII: 

IN CILICIA AND COELE-SYRIA XX: 

IN PALESTINE THE ONE NOW CALLED 
SELEUCIS 


KINGS CONQUERED 

TIGRANES THE ARMENIAN: ARTOCES THE 
IBERIAN: OROEZES THE ALBANIAN: 
ARETAS THE NABATEAN: DARIUS 
THE MEDE: ANTIOCHUS OF COMMAGENE. 

Pompey himself was borne in a chariot studded with 
gems, wearing, it is said, the cloak of Alexander the 
Great, if any one can believe that. This was supposed 



SOME MISCELLANIES 


109 


to have been found among the possessions of Mithri- 
dates. His chariot was followed by the officers who had 
shared the campaigns with him, some on horseback and 
others on foot. When he reached the Capitol, he did 
not put any prisoners to death, as had been customary 
at other triumphs, but sent them all home at the public 
expense, except the kings. Of these Aristobulus alone 
was shortly put to death, and Tigranes son of the king 
of Armenia some time later. 

Such was Pompey’s triumph! 

b. The Colossus of Rhodes 1 

In the year 305 b.c., some enemies of the island of 
Rhodes in the iEgean Sea were compelled to retire from 
a siege of that city. In gratitude the Rhodians com¬ 
manded the sculptor Chares to erect a gigantic statue 
of the god Apollo. Twenty-five years later his task was 
completed. “Section by section,” says E. J. Ranks in 
his book on The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, 
“the brass had been cast in molds, and was ready to be 
raised on its foundations in the harbor. As the mon¬ 
strous brass legs were erected, the great hollows within 
were filled with stone masonry, lest the body become 
top-heavy and fall over. The height of the Colossus is 
generally given as seventy cubits, or about one hundred 
five feet. Within was a spiral staircase leading to 
its head, where, if tradition were true, was a beacon light 
to guide the ships to the city. It was so immense in size 
and so beautiful in workmanship, that it won the ad¬ 
miration of the world.” According to some accounts, it 
bestrode the entrance to the harbor, and ships in full 
sail passed between its legs, but this is highly doubtful. 
In 244 b.c., the Colossus was destroyed by an earth¬ 
quake, and it was never rebuilt. 

i See the play, I, ii, 136. 


110 


SUPPLEMENTARY READING 


c. Roman Augurs and Auguries 1 

The Roman augurs, anciently called auspices , had as 
their office to foretell future events, chiefly from the 
flight, chirping, or feeding of birds, and also from other 
appearances. They were a body of priests of the 
greatest authority in the Roman state, because nothing 
of importance was done respecting the public, either at 
home or abroad, in peace or in war, without consulting 
them. 

Augur is often put for any one who foretold futurity. 
So, “Augur Apollo,” the god of augury. Auspex 
denoted a person who observed and interpreted omens, 
particularly the priest who officiated at marriages. 
In later times, when the custom of consulting the aus¬ 
pices was in a great measure dropped, those employed 
to witness the signing of the marriage contract, and to 
see that everything was rightly performed, were called 
auspices nuptiarum. 

Augurium and auspicium are commonly used pro¬ 
miscuously; but they are sometimes distinguished. 
Auspicium was properly the foretelling of future events 
from the inspection of birds; augurium, from any omen 
or prodigies whatever; but each of these words is often 
put for the omen itself. 

The Romans derived their knowledge of augury 
chiefly from the Tuscans; and anciently their youth 
used to be instructed as carefully in this art as after¬ 
ward they were in the Greek literature. For this 
purpose, by a decree of the Senate, six of the sons of the 
leading men at Rome were sent to each of the twelve 
states of Etruria to be taught. 

Before the city of Rome was founded, Romulus and 

i See the play, II, ii, 37 


SOME MISCELLANIES 


111 


Remus are said to have agreed to determine by augury 
who should give a name to the city, and who should 
govern it when built. Romulus chose the Palatine 
Hill, and Remus the Aventine, as places to make their 
observations. Six vultures first appeared as an omen 
or augury to Remus: and after this omen was an¬ 
nounced or formally declared, twelve vultures appeared 
to Romulus. Whereupon each was saluted king by his 
own party. The partisans of Remus claimed the crown 
to him from his having seen the omen first; those of 
Romulus, from the number of birds. Through the 
keenness of the contest they came to blows, and in the 
scuffle Remus fell. The common report is that Remus 
was slain by Romulus for having, in derision, leapt over 
his walls. 

After Romulus, it became customary that no one 
should enter upon an office without consulting the 
auspices. But Dionysius informs us that, in his time, 
this custom was observed merely for form’s sake. In 
the morning of the day on which those fleeted were to 
enter on their magistracy, they rose about twilight and 
repeated certain prayers in the open air, attended by an 
augur, who told them that lightning had appeared on 
the left, which was esteemed a good omen, although no 
such thing had happened. This verbal declaration, 
although false, was reckoned sufficient. 

The augurs are supposed to have been first instituted 
by Romulus, three in number, one to each tribe. 

A fourth was added, probably by Servius Tullius, 
when he increased the number of tribes and divided 
the city into four tribes. The augurs were at first all 
patricians; later five plebeians were added. Sulla 
increased their number to fifteen. They were at first 
chosen, as the other priests, by the Comitia Curiata. 


112 SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

The chief of the augurs was called magister collegii. The 
augurs enjoyed this singular privilege: that, of what¬ 
ever crime they were guilty, they could not be deprived 
of their office, because, as Plutarch says, they were 
intrusted with the secrets of the empire. The laws of 
friendship were anciently observed with great care 
among the augurs, and no one was admitted into their 
number who was known to be inimical to any of the 
college. In delivering their opinions about anything in 
the college, the precedency was always given to age. 

As the priests prescribed solemn forms and cere¬ 
monies, so the augurs explained all omens. They derived 
tokens of futurity chiefly from five sources: (1) from 
appearances in the heavens, as thunder or lightning; 
(2) from the singing or flight of birds; (3) from the eat¬ 
ing of chickens; (4) from quadrupeds; and (5) from 
uncommon accidents. The birds which gave omens 
by the manner of their singing were the raven, the crow, 
the owl, the cock; by the manner of their flight, 
the eagle, vulture, etc.; by the manner of their feeding, 
chickens, much attended to in war. Contempt of their 
intimations was supposed to occasion signal misfortunes, 
as in the case of P. Claudius in the First Punic War, 
who, when the person who had the charge of the 
chickens told him that they would not eat, which was 
esteemed a bad omen, ordered them to be thrown into 
the sea, saying, “Then let them drink.” After this, 
engaging the enemy, he was defeated with the loss of his 
fleet. 

The badges of the augurs were (1) a kind of robe, 
called trabea, striped with purple; (2) a cap of a conical 
shape, like that of the pontifices; (3) a crooked staff, 
which they carried in their right hand, to mark out the 
quarters of the heavens. 


SOME MISCELLANIES 


113 


An augur made his observations on the heavens 
usually in the dead of the night, or about twilight. 
He took his station on an elevated place, called arx or 
templum, or tabernaculum, where the view was open on 
all sides; and to make it so, buildings were sometimes 
pulled down. Having first offered up sacrifices and 
uttered a solemn prayer, he sat down with his head 
covered and with his face turned to the east, so that the 
parts toward the south were on the right, and those 
toward the north on the left. Then he determined with 
his staff the regions of the heavens from the east to west 
and marked in his mind some objects straight forward, 
at as great a distance as his eyes could reach, within 
which boundaries he should make his observation. 
This space was also called templum. Thunder on the 
left was a good omen for everything else but holding 
the Comitia. The croaking of a raven on the right, and 
of a crow on the left, were reckoned fortunate, and vice 
versa. In short, the whole art of augury among the Ro¬ 
mans was involved in uncertainty. It seems to have 
been at first contrived, and afterward cultivated, 
chiefly to increase the influence of the leading men over 
the multitude. 

The Romans took omens also from quadrupeds 
crossing the way, or appearing in an unaccustomed 
place; from sneezing, spilling salt on the table, and 
other accidents of that kind. Many curious instances of 
Roman superstition, with respect to omens and other 
things, are enumerated by Pliny, as among the Greeks 
by Pausanias. Caesar, in landing at Adrumetum in 
Africa with his army, happened to fall on his face, 
which was reckoned a bad omen; but he, with great 
presence of mind, turned it to the contrary; for, taking 
hold of the ground with his right hand and kissing it, 


114 SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

as if he had fallen on purpose, he exclaimed, “I take 

possession of thee, 0 Africa!” 

— Adapted from James Boyd’s Roman Antiquities 

There was a book De Analogia, written by Csesar after 
the conference at Lucca, during the passage of the Alps. 
This was a book on the auspices, which, coming from the 
head of the Roman religion, would have thrown a light 
much to be desired on this curious subject. In practice 
Caesar treated the auguries with contempt. He carried 
his laws in open disregard of them. He fought his 
battles careless whether the sacred chickens would eat 

or the calves’ livers were of the proper color. 

— Froude, Caesar 


d. Clocks in Rome 1 

Notwithstanding the magnificence of the domestic 
arrangements of the ancients and the refined care be¬ 
stowed on everything that could make life agreeable, 
they still were without many ordinary conveniences. 
For instance, a clock to regulate the business of the day 
according to a fixed measure of time, to us an indis¬ 
pensable piece of furniture which the man of moderate 
means can command with facility, and even the poorest 
does not like to be without, was for nearly five hundred 
years a thing quite unknown in Rome, and even in later 
times only in a very imperfect state. Originally they 
did not divide the day into hours at all, but guessed at 
the time from the position of the sun. Afterward the 
division which followed was very inconvenient. 

It is true, they reckoned twenty-four hours from mid¬ 
night to midnight, but they divided the regular duration 
of the day, between the rising and setting of the sun, 
into twelve hours, and allotted the remainder of the 
i See the play, II, ii, 114. 


SOME MISCELLANIES 


115 


time to the night. After the Romans became acquainted 
with the use of sundials, the natural day was divided 
into twelve equal hours. Not so the night, in which 
the position of the stars and the increasing or decreasing 
darkness were the only means of distinguishing single 
portions of time; hence there was no division of it into 
hours at first. Afterward the use of water clocks became 
more general, but even then the former custom derived 
from the camp, by which the night was divided into four 
watches, still remained much in use. In civil life it 
became more subdivided; eight divisions were adopted. 

— W. A. Becker, Gallus 

e. The Roman Army 1 

In the early days of Rome, every able-bodied citizen 
had been expected to serve in the army to defend his 
home and the state, and this citizen army was com¬ 
manded by the king. Every citizen had to provide his 
own armor and weapons; and as some ranks required 
more costly equipment than others, Servius Tullius, who 
made a number of reforms in the Roman army, divided 
the citizens of the state into five classes according to the 
kind of equipment each could best provide. Rut it was 
still a citizen army. It was not until the time of Marius 
that the army became a profession and that men en¬ 
listed in it for a definite term of years. In the main, the 
Roman army kept the character given it by the reforms 
of Marius, not only during the period of the later re¬ 
public but also during the empire. 

There were two main divisions of the Roman army: 
the legions and the auxiliaries. There were thirty 
legions which were known by numbers. Each legion 
consisted of about six thous.and foot soldiers and a 

1 See the play, IV, ii. 


116 SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

hundred and twenty horsemen. The legion was sub¬ 
divided into ten regiments known as cohorts, and these 
again into groups of a hundred men, called centuries , 
each of which was commanded by a centurion. In 
republican days the army had been commanded by the 
consul; under the empire the emperor became the com- 
mander-in-chief of the whole army. 

A Roman soldier generally enlisted for a term of 
twenty years. He had to be a free Roman citizen, and 
on entering the army he took an oath of allegiance. 
He swore never to desert the standard, to be absolutely 
obedient to orders given him, and to be willing to give 
up his life for the safety of the emperor and the empire. 
These men were given a thorough military training; 
they were taught not only to handle weapons of all 
kinds and to fight, but to march, to face hardships, to 
grow steady, disciplined, stubborn, and determined. 
When not engaged in fighting, they were used to build 
roads, bridges, or walls in the provinces where they were 
stationed. 

Attached to the legions were the auxiliaries. These 
were provincials and not necessarily Roman citizens. 
They were troops raised in the various provinces, though 
they were not as a rule allowed to serve there. The 
Rriton and the Gaul would be found serving on the 
Euphrates; the African, Syrian, or Spaniard on the 
Rhine and Danube frontiers or in Gaul. These men 
enlisted for twenty-five years, and when discharged they 
became Roman citizens. 

One important characteristic of the Roman army was 
its camp. The site was carefully chosen, and was 
always within easy reach of food supplies, wood, and 
water. The space determined on was marked out and 
a ditch dug all round it. Inside the ditch a rampart was 


SOME MISCELLANIES 


117 


built of the earth thrown out of the ditch and of stakes. 
The camp was nearly always rectangular and was 
entered by four gates, one on each side. Two hundred 
yards were left clear on all sides between the rampart 
and the rows of tents, where the troops could exercise; 
and this served as an additional defence. The tents 
were set up in streets laid out in perfectly straight lines 
and crossing each other at right angles. Every part of 
the army had its own place and knew exactly where to 
set up the tents. The general’s quarters were in the 
center, with a platform from which he could address the 
troops, and an open space for a soldiers’ forum near it. 
These camps were not only speedily laid out, but when 
the trumpet gave the signal, they could be broken up 
at a moment’s notice. Such a camp could only have 
been achieved by men accustomed to hard discipline 
and prompt obedience. It was such men that made 
up the armies of Rome. 

The Roman legions were stationed on the frontiers of 
the empire, for it was there that danger was chiefly to 
be feared. Egypt, Africa, and Spain had one legion 
each; there were three in Rritain, eight on the 
Euphrates, and sixteen on the Rhine and Danube. 
These armies were kept chiefly for purposes of defence, 
and for nearly five hundred years after the reign of 
Augustus they kept the frontiers safe and the empire 
at peace. 

— Dorothy Mills, The Book of the Ancient Romans 
/. The Stoics 1 

Zeno, the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy 
(born circa 340 b.c.), was a native of Citium in Cyprus. 
The city was Greek, but with a large Phoenician ad- 

i See the play, IV, iii, 145. 


118 


SUPPLEMENTARY READING 


mixture. It is curious that in this last and sternest 
phase of Greek thought, not the founder only, but a 
large proportion of the successive leaders of the school, 
came from this and otner places having Semitic elements 
in them. Among these places notable as nurseries of 
Stoicism was Tarsus of Cilicia, the birthplace of St. 
Paul. The times of preparation were drawing to a close; 
tnd through these men, with their eastern intensity 
and capacities of self-searching and self-abasement, 
the philosophy of Greece was linking itself on to the 
wisdom of the Hebrews. 

Zeno came to Athens to study philosophy, and for 
twenty years he was a pupil first of Crates and then of 
other teachers. At length he set up a school of his own 
in the celebrated Stoa Poecile, “Painted Colonnade,” so 
named because it was adorned with frescoes by Pol- 
ygnotus. There he taught for nearly sixty years and 
voluntarily ended his life when close on a century old. 
His life, as Antigonus, king of Macedon, recorded on his 
tomb, was consistent with his doctrine — abstemious, 
frugal, laborious, dutiful. 

— John Marshall, A Short History of Greek Philosophy 

The Stoic philosophy spread very soon to Rome, and 
it was one which was specially suited to the hard Roman 
temperament. It endeavored to answer the questions 
which were pressing for an answer: How was a man to 
live, and what was he to believe? To the first, the Stoic 
answered that the aim of man should be to live a life 
devoted to virtue, that he should cultivate an unbroken 
serenity of mind, that he was to hold in contempt both 
worldly goods and misfortune, that all men were equal 
and formed one brotherhood, and that life should be 
spent in the service of man. 


SOME MISCELLANIES 


119 


To the second question the Stoic had a less definite 
answer. He was to believe that nqthing was good in the 
world but goodness, that the world was ordered by a 
divine plan and was working toward some great end, 
but he stopped short there. He did not fill in the blank 
or strive much to gain any real perception of what that 
end was. 

Stoicism lifted up ideals and standards at a time when 
they were sorely needed, and during the early Roman 
Empire it found many followers. Two of the greatest 
Stoic philosophers whose teachings and writings have 
greatly influenced the moral thought of thinking men 
were Epictetus, who lived in the first century after 
Christ, and the emperor, Marcus Aurelius. 

— Dorothy Mills, The Book of the Ancient Romans 

Yet the Stoics were not altogether alien to the ordi¬ 
nary interests a^d duties of life. They admitted a duty 
of cooperating in politics, at least in such states as 
showed some desire for, or approach to, virtue. They 
approved of the wise man’s taking part in education, of 
his marrying and bringing up children, both for his own 
sake and his country’s. He will be ready even to 
“withdraw himself” from life on behalf of his country 
or his friends. This “withdrawal,” which was their 
word for suicide, came unhappily to be much in the 
mouths of later, and especially of the Roman, Stoics, 
who, in the sadness and restraint of prevailing des¬ 
potism, came to thank God that no one was compelled 
to remain in life; he might “withdraw” when the bur¬ 
den of life, the hopelessness of useful activity, became 
too great. 

— John Marshall, A Short History of Greek Philosophy 


STUDY SUGGESTIONS 


I. WORD STUDY 

Dramatis Personae. — 1. The name of what month is 
derived from the name of the play’s leading character? 

2. What title was later given Octavius Caesar? 3. Why 
should a newspaper be called the Tribune? 

I, i — 1. What words and expressions in this scene are 
used in a way that seems odd to you? Was Shakespeare 
using incorrect English, or have the forms of the language 
changed? 2. What are the two meanings of cobbler? 

3. Should a or an precede universal? 4. Is Tiber feminine or 
masculine? See what is said on page xxvii, and also note later 
on the gender given it by Cassius in Scene ji. 5. Give some 
interesting facts as to the vulgar. (See the glossary.) 

I, ii — 1. Which character in this scene sometimes speaks 
of himself in the third person? 2. Where in this scene are the 
old thou and thee forms used? 3. What is meant by the ex¬ 
pression, “It was Greek to ifie?” 4. Find as many synonyms 
as you can for rabblement. 

I, iii —-1. Is brought (1. 1) used as we use it to-day? Does 
unfirm (1. 4) mean the same as our modern word infirm? 
2. What prodigies have you seen at the circus? 3. Would 
line 76 be grammatical in our usage to-day? 4. Is find out 
in line 134 used in the modern sense? 5. What do we say 
instead of on in line 137? 

II, i — 1. What words are to be inserted in line 3? What 
words are to be understood after when (1. 5)? 2. Look up 
adder (1. 14), and notice the odd change that has taken place 
in this word. 3. Explain the following words or expressions 
used in Shakespeare’s time: moe (1. 72), hath stricken (1. 192), 
nor no (1. 231), nor for yours neither (1. 237), you've stole (1. 238), 
dear my lord (1. 255), have you chose out (1. 314). 4. What 
must we substitute to-day for his in line 251? 5. Name some 
phrases employed in this scene that you would like to store in 

120 


WORD STUDY 


121 


your memory for future use. 6. With the help of the glossary 
explain the following words: Cato, cautelous, Erebus, genius, 
high-sighted, humor, palter, remorse, subtle masters, unicorns. 

II, ii — 1. What examples can you find in this scene of 
words or phrases no longer in common use? 2. What is there 
odd in the sound of line 24? 3. What is the meaning of the line, 
“Cowards die many times before their deaths?” 4. What 
figure of speech is illustrated in Danger (1. 44)? 5. How, 

apparently, did Shakespeare pronounce hundred (1. 77)? 

II, iii — 1. What is the subject of all the verbs but one in 
the first sentence of Artemidorus’s letter? 2. What is the 
meaning of immortal? 3. In what mood is the verb pass? 

II, iv — 1. Find examples of the part of speech called 

“interjection” in this scene. 2. What figure of speech is there 
in line 6? 3. What words in line 8 alliterate? In line 9? 

4. What does beseech (1. 30) mean? What is the meaning of 
commend me (1. 44)? 

III, i — 1. What word should we change in line 35, to make 
it conform to modern usage? 2. Is it consistent that through¬ 
out the play the Roman Caesar (like the other characters) 
should talk English, and then suddenly, in line 77, he should 
speak Latin? Can you justify the use of this phrase? 

3. What is the difference between liberty and freedom (1. 78)? 

4. What custom of language in Shakespeare’s time is shown 
in line 91? In line 121? 5. Why is knot (1. 117) a good word 
for conspirators? 6. Examine carefully the four nouns in 
line 149, and tell what each one means. 7. In line 161 what 
word should we put in the plural? In line 172 what preposi¬ 
tion should we change? 8. In the speech of Mark Antony 
beginning, “I doubt not of your wisdom,” tell when Shake¬ 
speare uses thy and when thine. 9. What plays on words do 
you find in this scene? 10. Look up the following words in 
the glossary and give'some interesting facts concerning them: 
Ate, bayed, bootless, Capitol, dogs of war, havoc, let blood, Lethe, 
presently, rebel blood. 

HI, ii — 1. In line 8 what word should we substitute to¬ 
day for of? 2. Read carefully the speech of Brutus, and see 
whether there are peculiarities in the structure of the sen¬ 
tences. Note, for example, the use of contrast (antithesis) 
throughout. 3. In line 66 what is the case of / in “save I 


122 


STUDY SUGGESTIONS 


alone”? 4. What other words can you think of that mean 
public chair (1. 68)? 5. Read the word grievous (1. 84, etc.). 
How many syllables? 6. Is Lupercal (1. 100) a place or time? 
7. Beginning with line 150, notice how many words are 
monosyllables. What is the effect? 8. Comment on most 
unkindest (1.187) and statua (1. 192). 9. What is the effect of 
placing great Csesar fell (1. 193) at the end of the sentence in 
which it occurs? Try placing it after and (1. 191). 10. What 
does royal (1. 249) mean? 11. What is the noun derived from 
recreate (1. 256)? 12. Look up in the glossary the following 
words and give some interesting facts concerning them: 
action, ambition, angel, Csesar, censure, drachmas, Nervii, and 
question of his death. 

III, iii — 1. What are some of the peculiarities of the sen¬ 
tences in this scene? 2. What is the meaning of fantasy? 

IV, i — 1. What word should we substitute to-day for what 
in line 10? For the first or in line 11? 2. What is there odd 
in these many (1. 1)? We say to-day, this many: what number 
is this, and what number is many? 3. Pronounce business 
(1. 22) and answered (1. 47). 4. Give the meaning of the fol¬ 
lowing words and phrases, as explained in the glossary: 
barren-spirited fellow, commons, levying powers, mischiefs, 
proscription, stake. 

IV, ii — 1. Make a collection of all words in this scene that 
have to do with politeness or its opposite. 2. How should 
enforced (1. 21) be pronounced? 3. What does word (1. 2 and 
1. 33) mean? 4. Give the meaning of the following words and 
phrases, as explained in the glossary: enforced ceremony, 
familiar instances, hollow, hot at hand, jades, mettle. 

IV, iii — 1. Give as many meanings as you can for nice 
(1. 8)? Do most people use the word nicely? 2. What word 
would be employed to-day in place of his (1. 8)? Read what 
is said on p. cxxiii. 3. What does Brutus mean by lines 
15-16 (“The name of Cassius.”)? 4. What is the mood of 
break (1. 42)? Of come (1. 235)? 5. Give the meaning of the 
following words and phrases, as explained in the glossary: 
chastisement, choler, conned by rote, counters, cynic, indirection, 
jigging, knave, mace, niggard, noted, Plutus, spleen, testy humor, 
ventures, waspish. 


CHARACTER ANALYSIS 


123 


V, i — 1. Comment on the grammar of these lines: 33 (are), 
60 ( honourable),IU (begun). 2. Explain what Octavius means 
by lines 54-55. 3. What does Antony mean by “Old Cassius 
still!” (1. 63)? 4. Explain Cassius’s remark in line 90. 

5. What is the mood of stand (1. 95)? 6. Explain the meaning 
of the following words and phrases, as given in the glossary: 
battles, bloody sign of battle, Cato, Epicurus, gorging, hazard, 
Hybla bees, presage, strain. 

V, ii — 1. What does bills mean? See the glossary. 

V, iii — 1. What does Cassius mean by “a Roman’s part” 
(1. 89) ? 2. What is odd about the sentences in which Pindarus 
describes the capture of Titinius? Are they effective? 

3. Look up Parthia (1. 37) in Webster; also Parthian; and 
be able to explain the phrase, “a Parthian shot.” 4. Explain 
the meaning of the following words and phrases, as given in 
the glossary: engendered, envenomed, fellow, second fight, with 
a thought. 

V, v — 1. For what purpose does Shakespeare employ rhyme 
in this scene? 2. Explain the meaning of the following words 
and phrases, as given in the glossary: elements, entertain, pre¬ 
fer, vessel. 

II. QUESTIONS ON CHARACTER 
ANALYSIS 

Dramatis Personae. — 1. Are the characters arranged in a 
definite order? If so, what is the nature of the arrangement? 

i — i. Does Shakespeare differentiate the characters of 
the’various commoners, or is one just like the other? Are 
Marullus and Flavius exactly alike in character? If your 
answer is yes to the first and no to the second question, tell 
what means Shakespeare uses to make you feel that all his 
characters are distinct individuals. 

I, ii — 1. How does the first speech by Casca throw a 
light on his character? 2. What is the idea in making Caesar 
order people about as soon as he comes on the stage? 3. What 
is shown as to Caesar by his disregard of the Soothsayer? 

4. Was Caesar himself ever a “dreamer”? 5. Was he a good 
judge of character, or did he despise danger? 6. Does Brutus 
despise Antony for liking a good time? 7. Does Cassius 


124 


STUDY SUGGESTIONS 


handle Brutus skillfully? To what motives in Brutus does he 
appeal? 8. What conflict is going on in Brutus’s mind — 
the “passions of some difference” to which he refers? 9. Are 
high-minded people like Brutus susceptible to flattery? 10. It 
was dangerous for any one in Borne at that time to speak 
against Caesar or his ambitions. Which is it, Brutus or 
Cassius, who first speaks out against Caesar? What does this 
show as to his character? 11. Are the arguments of Cassius 
sound? 12. How is he assisted by the shouts that come from 
offstage? 13. Why would Brutus, as a Stoic, 1 especially 
despise a person who gave in to physical weakness? 14. Does 
such physical weakness prove Caesar’s unfitness to rule? 
15. Is what Caesar says of Cassius true? 16. Why, after 
making him boast that he is afraid of nothing (11. 211-212), 
does Shakespeare make Caesar say that he is partially deaf? 
Would a god who feared nothing be deaf? 17. Do you agree 
with the view of Cassius as expressed in the final speech of the 
scene? 

I? hi — 1- What is the great difference between the charac¬ 
ters of Casca and Cicero? 2. Has Casca’s character changed 
since you met him in Scene ii? Is there a good reason for the 
change in him? 3. Which, in your opinion, is more likely to 
have been Shakespeare’s own view as to “prodigies,” Casca’s 
or Cicero’s? 4. Contrast the methods which Cassius employs 
to win Brutus and those he uses to win over Casca. How in 
both instances does he show his own deep knowledge of human 
nature? 5. Does Cassius’s defiance of the lightning really 
prove anything, except to a superstitious person? 6. Is 
Cassius honest in preparing papers in different handwritings 
for Brutus to find? Can you think of any similar methods 
employed by politicians of to-day? 7. Do the other conspira¬ 
tors respect Brutus? Why? 

II, 1 — 1- What do you learn about Brutus from line 4? 
2. What is the character of the boy Lucius? How does Brutus 
treat him? 3. Notice how Brutus starts with his conclusion 
— “It must be by his death” —and then goes on to find 
reasons for justifying himself. 4. Does this speech show fair¬ 
ness and justice of character on the part of Brutus? Is his 
reasoning good? 5. Discuss the attitude of Brutus toward 

1 See pages 117 f. 


CHARACTER ANALYSIS 


125 


Lucius and his wife as traits in his character. 6. What three 
important questions arise for the “faction” to settle? What 
is the view of the others until Brutus speaks? What is his 
judgment? Is he right? 7. Was Brutus right to be influenced 
by the “instigations” dropped where he could find them? 
Ought he not to have suspected a plot to sway his opinion? 
8. Do you admire Brutus? Would you elect him mayor of 
your town? 

II, ii—1. What is the view of Caesar presented in this 
scene? 2. Does he show any weakness of character? Does he 
at any point show strength of character? 3. In his greetings 
to the conspirators at the close of the scene does he seem to be 
the overbearing, stilted tyrant whom Brutus wishes to kill? 
4. What is the character of Calpurnia? 5. Is Caesar hen¬ 
pecked? 6. Contrast Calpurnia’s character with that of 
Portia, and in particular compare the two women’s.kneeling. 
What is the plea of each one as she kneels? 7. What is Caesar’s 
attitude toward Mark Antony? Toward Decius Brutus? 
8. Do you admire Decius Brutus? 9. You will note that 
Marcus Brutus says very little in this scene. What do the 
lines he speaks show as to his feelings now that the moment 
of the assassination is approaching? 

II, iii — 1. What is the character of Artemidorus? 

II, iv — 1. Was Brutus right to tell Portia the secret of the 
conspiracy? 2. Is Portia right in thinking that she can 
keep the secret as easily as she bore the pain of the wound 
she gave herself? 3. Does Lucius guess what the trouble is? 

HI, i — 1. As Popilius Lena advances toward Caesar, which 
is the more excited, Cassius or Brutus? What does this show 
as to the character of each? 2. What does Caesar s use of his 
in line 32 show? Was the Senate his? 3. Was Caesar right 
in refusing the request of Metellus Cimber? 4. What does 
Caesar mean when he says, “Know, Caesar doth not wrong, 
nor without cause will he be satisfied ”? 5. What sort of man 
is the Servant? Is he an ordinary menial? 6. Is Brutus 
flattered by the message Antony sends him? Is it true that, as 
he says he always thought him “a wise and valiant Roman ? 
See what Brutus says in II, i, 181 f. 7. In the argument 
between Brutus and Cassius, lines 143 f., and again in lines 
232 f, which is right? 8. Is Antony sincere in what he says 


126 


STUDY SUGGESTIONS 


about Caesar? In what he says to the conspirators? How does 
he convince the latter that he is an honest man? 9. Contrast 
the attitude of Brutus^and of Cassius toward Antony. Which 
appeals to his patriotism, which to his selfishness? 10. Why 
does Antony shake hands with each of the conspirators? 

11. Why does Antony say that the conspirators must think 
him “either a coward or a flatterer”? 12. Go over the 
speeches of Antony to the conspirators, and mention the places 
in which he really does flatter them. 13. Is Brutus conceited 
in lines 236 f.? 14. Is Antony sincere when he says, in line 
252, “I do desire no more”? 

Ill, ii — 1. Four of the Citizens take a leading part in 
responding to the speeches of Brutus and Antony. Assemble 
what each of them says, and see whether Shakespeare has 
given each man a distinct character. 2. Is Brutus emotional 
or cold-blooded in his speech? What characteristics does he 
reveal? 3. Is Antony really filled with deep feeling as he 
speaks, or does he pretend to be? Can an orator speak with 
art and yet with feeling? 4. Does Antony accept the profes¬ 
sion of the conspirators that they have killed Caesar because 
of pure patriotism? What does private griefs (1. 217) imply? 
5. What is the nature of the Roman mob? Does it resemble 
modern political mobs? 6. Is Antony posing when he dis¬ 
claims being an orator, and says he is only “a plain blunt 
man”? Is this an effective pose for an orator? 

III, iii — 1. What sort of man was Cinna, to judge by his 
remarks in this scene? Did he deserve to be slain? 2. What 
does Shakespeare show as to the character of the mob? Do 
mobs really act in this unreasonable and cruel way? 

IV, i — 1. What do you think of the character of Antony 
as revealed in this scene? 2. What traits of character does 
Octavius show? Is he likely to be dominated by Antony? 
3. What did Octavius later become? Give some facts as to 
his career. (See p. lxxi f.) 4. Put into your own language 
the analysis of Lepidus that Antony gives (fifty words). Do 
you know any people like Lepidus? 

IV, ii — 1. Are any new facets of the character of Brutus 
revealed in this scene? 2. Is Cassius shown in a new light? 
3. Is it true, as Brutus says (1. 18 f.), that a cooling friend is 
likely to be more courteous than one who is full of warmth? 


STAGECRAFT 


127 


IV, iii — 1. In the quarrel between Brutus and Cassius, 
which is right, in your opinion? 2. In the argument whether 
the battle is to be fought at Sardis or Philippi, which is right? 

3. When Brutus tells Cassius that he has been raising money 
by vile means, and then reproaches him because he failed to 
supply him with money when he asked for it, is he consistent? 

4. Does Brutus give a true description of himself in lines 110 ff. ? 

5. What does Cassius mean by the reference to his mother 
(1. 120)? 6. Is it natural that, after the reconciliation, both 
men should turn on the Poet who comes in to pacify? 7. Why 
does Cassius fail to oppose Brutus strongly in their discussion 
of the place at which to give battle? 8. What do the refer¬ 
ences to the book and the music show as to Brutus’s charac¬ 
ter? Is he courageous in his attitude to the Ghost? 

V, i — 1. Who seems tp be the more powerful of the two 
commanders'of the Caesarites? 2. What does the exchange 
of remarks between the commanders of the two armies show 
as to their characters? 3. Is the remark of Cassius as to 
Antony (see 1. 62) just? 4. When Cassius asks Brutus what 
he will do in the event of defeat, is Brutus clear in his own 
mind? 

V, iii — 1. What new light on the character of Cassius does 
this scene afford? 2. Is he really a prey to melancholy? 
3. Does he deserve the eulogy which Brutus bestows on him? 

V, iv — 1. What does the action of Lucilius show as to 
Brutus? 

V, v — 1. Was Brutus justified in committing suicide? 
What was the Stoic creed on this point? (See page 119.) 
2. Are the Caesarites sincere in the tribute they pay him at 
the end? 

III. QUESTIONS ON STAGECRAFT 

Dramatis Personae. — 1. What does dramatis personas 
mean, and how is it pronounced? 2. Do many women ap¬ 
pear in the play? Why not? 3. What do we know about 
the actors who took the roles in Shakespeare’s time? (See 
pages cx and cxvif.) 

I, i — 1. If any member of the audience comes in late, or if 
the audience takes a little time to settle down, would there be 


128 


STUDY SUGGESTIONS 


much loss in missing the opening lines? 2. Why is part of 
the scene in prose and part in verse? 3. How is the keynote 
of the action of the play — opposition to Caesar — struck in 
this scene? 4. Is it necessary to make a separate scene of this 
conversation between the commoners and the tribunes, or 
could this scene be merged in the next, with no break or cur¬ 
tain between them? 5. What happens to the actors who take 
the part of the commoners in this scene? Are they through, 
or is any other task assigned them? 

I) ii — 1. How does the stage manager arrange the char¬ 
acters who appear on the stage at the beginning of this scene, 
so that there is no doubt in the minds of the audience which 



MoBARRANGE THEMiEUVEJ ON 
PLATFORM AT BACK SHOUT TILL. 
PROCt^aio^ STOPS 


O 


Act I, ii, as Placed in Edwin Booth’s Prompt-Book 


one is Caesar? 2. How long are the people on the stage silent 
before Caesar speaks? 3. Is there any advantage in having 
the Soothsayer announce to Caesar and the audience that the 
Ides of March will be dangerous to him? 4. From your 
knowledge of what later happens to Caesar, is there any point 
in making Brutus repeat the warning of the Soothsayer to 
beware the Ides of March? 5. In what tone does Cassius 
speak the words, “except immortal Caesar”? 

. hi — 1. Wh y does Shakespeare make Casca speak prose 
in Scene n and verse here? 2. What action accompanies line 
19? Line 114? Line 120?, 3. Which speech in this scene 
would an actor best like to give? Why? Which part in this 



STAGECRAFT 


129 


scene would be most difficult for an actor to play? 4. At 
which point in the scene is the feeling at the highest point? 
5. Is anything actually accomplished in this scene? For what 
purpose or purposes does Shakespeare employ the scene? 

II, i — 1. Why did Shakespeare write the first nine lines of 
this scene? Do they serve any useful purpose, or could one 
just as well begin with line 10? 2. Is it natural for a person 
to talk aloud to himself, as Brutus does? What is meant by 
a convention of the drama? (See page cxviii.) 3. How many 
days have elapsed since the previous scene? 4. It would 
seem natural that Brutus should know who the conspirators 
are; he has been associating with them all his lifetime. Why, 
then, does Shakespeare have Cassius name them over? 
5. What is the reason for the whispered conversation of 
Brutus and Cassius (1. 99)? What does Brutus tell his 
brother-in-law? 6. Does the audience listen to the discussion 
of the East among the other men or watch Brutus? 7. How 
does Brutus show himself as the predominant person of the 
play in this scene? 8. How does Shakespeare keep up the 
interest in the scene? 9. Is an argument as interesting as a 
battle or a trial scene? 10. What is Shakespeare’s purpose 
in introducing Portia after the conspirators go? 11. Does 
the conversation with her serve as contrast, or does it in any 
way advance the plot? 12. What action accompanies line 
270? Line 301? Could the scene with Ligarius be omitted? 

II, ii — 1. In what ways does this scene maintain suspense? 
2. Where have the prodigies been mentioned before? 3. What 
anachronisms occur in this scene? (See page xciii.) 4. 
What would have happened at line 56 if Mark Antony had 
come in instead of Decius Brutus? 5. Of the two predictions 
regarding Caesar (11. 75-90) which comes true? Or do both 
come true? 6. What directions would you give the actor 
who performs the part of Decius Brutus regarding his manner 
and gestures as he speaks lines 69-70? 7. What directions 
would you give Marcus Brutus for acting his role in this 
scene? 8. How long should the actor playing Caesar pause 
before speaking lines 55-56? Why is a pause necessary? 

II, iii — 1. Why, in your judgment, did Shakespeare in¬ 
sert this scene? 2. In what way does it increase the suspense? 

II, iv — 1. What is the purpose of this scene? Is its pur- 


130 


STUDY SUGGESTIONS 


pose the same as that of the preceding scene? 2. Will Portia 
betray the secret? 3. Will the Soothsayer manage to give 
Caesar his warning? 4. What ought to be the demeanor of 
Portia in this scene? If she acts in an excited way, will the 
audience likewise begin to feel excited? 

Ill, i — 1. Some editors make a short, separate scene of 
some of the opening lines of this scene, Why? Where 
should you stop? 2. Why does Trebonius draw Mark Antony 
out of the way? 3. Tell how you would emphasize the repe¬ 
tition of Caesar and pardon in line 55. 4. Tell how Cassius 
carries out the action of line 55 and Caesar of line 75. 

5. What happens when Casca says, “Speak, hands, for me!” 

6. Does the speech of Brutus, lines 103 f., fulfill Calpurnia’s 

dream? 7. Has time carried out the prophecy of Cassius, 
(11. Ill f.) ? 8. Why may the entrance of the Servant, after 

line 121, be regarded as the turning point of the action? 
What does he do as he comes in? 9. What does Antony do 
immediately on his entrance? What do the conspirators do, 
or how do they look as he speaks his opening lines? 10. De¬ 
scribe Antony as he speaks the passage beginning, “I doubt 
not of your wisdom.” 11. Why may the conspirators be 
said to doom themselves in the four words of Brutus, “You 
shall, Mark Antony”? 12. What four conditions does 
Brutus impose on Mark Antony, as to the making of the 
latter’s speech over Caesar’s body? 13. As the conspirators 
exeunt, tell how each of the following goes out: Brutus, Cas¬ 
sius, Casca. 14. Why, in Shakespeare’s theater, was it neces¬ 
sary for him to have Antony and the Servant carry out the 
body of Caesar? 

Ill, ii — 1. Tell in a sentence for each break what the 
members of the mob say every time there is a pause in the 
speech of either Brutus or Antony. 2. Why does Shakespeare 
show the mob completely won over by Brutus and ready to 
do violence to Antony at his first entrance? 3. What would 
be the effect on Brutus when a member of the mob calls out, 
“Let him be Caesar”? Would it reveal his failure to him? 
Also note the word crowned (1. 54). 4. Was it a mistake for 
Brutus to urge the mob to stay and hear Antony? 5. Does 
Antony carry out in his speech the conditions laid down for 
him by Brutus? Is he hindered or helped by so doing? 
6. How many points of contrast can you think of between the 


STAGECRAFT 


131 


speeches of Brutus and Antony? Which is the greater ora¬ 
tion? Why? 7. Analyze Antony’s speech under two heads: 
appeals to reason, appeals to feeling. Which are more effec¬ 
tive? Does he answer the charges of Brutus? 8. Tell in what 
tones of voice the successive lines containing “honorable man ” 
are spoken. 9. Do lines 135 f. of Antony’s speech also fulfill 
the dream of Calpurnia, II, ii, 76 f.? 10. Picture the scene 
when Antony steps down to the bier of Caesar. 11. Why does 
Antony insist on the commoners’ hearing the will? 12. Why 
are the references to Octavius and Lepidus introduced at the 
end of this scene? 

III, iii — 1. Tell in how many different ways this scene is 
a contrast to the preceding scene. 2. Why does Shakespeare 
show us the mob murdering Cinna? 

IV, i — 1. What does this scene show as to the success of the 
conspirators in their movement to abolish tyranny? Are the 
new triumvirs better for Rome than Caesar was? 2. What 
actual facts as to the progress of the plot are given in this 
scene? What do you hear as to Brutus and Cassius? 

IV, ii — 1. Does this scene show that the conspirators are 
united? Compare it with the preceding scene showing the 
state of affairs among the Caesarites. 2. Give directions for 
the actors taking the roles of Brutus and Cassius: how should 
each act? 3. What do the others do as Brutus and Cassius 
clash? 

IV, iii — 1. Show in what ways this scene renews the in¬ 
terest of the play. What new emotions does it appeal to? 

2. What is the gesture of Brutus after line 26? How does he 
speak the words, “For your life you durst not” (1. 62)? 

3. When Shakespeare in this scene has Brutus learn from 
Messala that Portia is dead, as if he did not already know, is it 
because the dramatist has forgotten that Brutus himself has 
told Cassius about it? Or has he some other purpose? 4. Of 
what speech by Antony does the appearance of Caesar’s 
Ghost remind you? 5. How does this scene carry forward 
the plot toward the threatening catastrophe? 

V, i — 1. In the contest of words between the commanders, 
which gets the better of it? What does Shakespeare intend 
to show? 2. Does Mark Antony give an accurate picture of 
Caesar’s assassination (1. 39 f.)? 3. What does Cassius mean 


132 


STUDY SUGGESTIONS 


by his remark to Brutus (1. 45 f.)P 4. What does Brutus do 
while Cassius is talking to MessalaP 5. What is the general 
mood of this scene? 

V, iii —1. Whom does Cassius mean by the “villains”? 

2. Was his mistake as to the capture of Titinius natural, or 
is it part of the bad luck that is overwhelming him? 3. What 
is the setting on the stage as Titinius finds the body of Cas¬ 
sius? 4. Does Shakespeare remember this setting in the final 
lines of the scene? 

V, v — 1. What is it that Brutus whispers to his friends? 

2. Why does Shakespeare show the Ghost of Caesar only once? 

3. In what ways is the ending an appropriate and striking one? 


SOUOIERS \N LfNEAT b-AC K 

o o o o O O o 

o o o 

0 

o 

o 

SCRVi 05 OFFICERS 

_ ANTONX 


OCTAVIUS O O 

O ^E-TELLUS 

TITINIUS Q 

O VRE-BOHIUS 

LuCiuS O &R.UTU.5 



Act V, v, in Booth’s Prompt-Book, with Some Characters 
Not in Shakespeare 


IV. THE PLAY AS A WHOLE 

1. Where does the conspiracy against Caesar definitely 
begin? 2. Where is there a period of suspense as to the suc¬ 
cess of the plot? 3. Where is the climax of the play? 

4. Where does the action turn against the conspirators? 

5. Where is there a period of suspense that the conspirators 
may still remain unified enough to defeat the Caesarites? 

6. What brings about the final catastrophe? 7. What are 
the three most striking scenes in the play? 8. Which role 
would be most difficult for an actor to perform? 9. Should 
the play be given in an accurate Roman setting, or could it 
be effectively performed in modern costume, on a simple 
background? . 10. What has made Julius Caesar so popular 
on the stage since it was first performed? 



METER 


133 


Y. QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES ON THE 
METER OF THE PLAY 

A 

1. When does Shakespeare use prose in this playp 

2. Why is I, i, 57 so short? 

3. What question of meter, apparently, made Shakespeare 
use “Antonius” and not “Antony” in I, ii, 3, 4, 6? 

4. Look carefully over the speeches of Brutus, Cassius, 
and Casca in I, ii, 215 f. Most of these speeches are prose. 
Are any of them so written that they can be scanned as verse? 

5. Count the number of syllables in this line: 

Incenses them to send destruction. — I, iii, 13. 

How must destruction be pronounced to give the line ten syl¬ 
lables? What other lines can you find where a word ending 
in -tion gains an extra syllable in the same way — by pro¬ 
nouncing this suffix as “she-own”? 

6. In what way does the incompleteness of the last line of 
Brutus’s soliloquy (II, i, 34) add to the effect? Does it fit 
the sense? Compare also the short line 60 in the same scene 
and discuss it. 

7. In what two different ways is statue pronounced in 
II, ii, 76 and 86? How is it pronounced in III, ii, 192? 

8. How must portents be accented in II, ii, 80? 

9. Comment on Look as the whole of V, i, 50. 

10. Which, in your opinion, are the most melodious lines 
of the play? 


B 

To avoid monotony Shakespeare employs a number of 
variations in the iambic pentameter line. For example, he 
will sometimes substitute a trochee for an iamb. Show where 
this is done in the following lines: 

a. 1. I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music. — I, ii. 

2. Thoughts of great value, worthy cogitations. — I, ii. 

3. Choose Caesar for their king. Ay, do you fear it? — I, ii. 


134 


STUDY SUGGESTIONS 


4. Think of this life, but for my single self. — I, ii. 

5. Mark him, and write his speeches in their books. — I, ii. 

6. Men at some time are masters of their fates. — I, ii. 

7. When went there by an age, since the great flood. — I, ii. 

8. Shakes like a thing unfirm! 0 Cicero! — I, iii. 

9. But never till to-night, never till now. — I, iii. 

10. Either there is a civil strife in heaven. — I, iii. 

b. Find five other examples of the same variation. 

C 

As another means of avoiding monotony, Shakespeare 
occasionally introduces an extra, unaccented syllable into 
one of his iambic feet; in other words, the iamb (o ') becomes 
an anapest (kjkj ')• Here are some examples: 

a. 1. Submitting me unto the perilous night. — I, iii. 

2. The breast of heaven, I did present myself. — I, iii. 

3. In persona/ action, yet prodigious grown. — I, iii. 

4. Our yoke and sufferance show us womanish. — I, iii. 

5. The power to cancel his captivity. — I, iii. 

6. And so good morrow to you every one. — II, i. 

7. Are to the world in genera/ as to Caesar. — II, ii. 

8. We’ll send Mark Antony to the senate-house. — II, ii. 

9. They are all fire, and every one doth shine. — III, i. 

10. Let me a little show it, even in this. — III, i. 

b. Find three other examples of the same device. 

D 

As still another means of avoiding monotony, Shakespeare 
often varies the iambic pentameter line by adding an extra 
unaccented syllable after the fifth foot. Count the number 
of syllables in the following lines: 

a. 1. What means this shouting? I do fear the people. — -1, ii. 

2. I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus. — I, ii. 

3. Well, honor is the subject of my story. — I, ii. 

4. And stemming it with hearts of controversy. — I, ii. 

5. The games are done and Csesar is returning. — I, ii. 

6. Upon a heap a hundred ghastly women. — I, iii. 

7. Send word to you he would be there to-morrow. — I, iii. 

8. And when the cross-blue lightning seem’d to open. — I, iii 

9. But wherefore did you so much tempt the heavens? — I, iii. 

10. It is the part of men to fear and tremble. — I, iii. 

b. Find other examples of the use of this device. 


EXERCISES AND PROJECTS 


135 


E 

In each of the following lines it is necessary, if the sound of 
the line is to be harmonious and to conform to the model of 
iambic pentameter verse, that a syllable usually silent shall 
be pronounced. Read the lines correctly, sounding the silent 
letter lightly: 

a. 1. The barren, touched in this holy chase. — I, ii. 

2. Accoutered as I was, I plunged in. — I, ii. 

3. Caesar’s ambition shall be glanced at. — I, ii. 

4. Transformed with their fear, who swore they saw. — I, iii. 

5. Indeed, it is a strange-disposed time. — I. iii. 

6. Good night then, Casca, this disturbed sky. — I, iii. 

7. And thus unbraced, Casca, as you see. — I, iii. 

8. And tempt the rheumy and unpurged air. — II, i. 

9. The face of Caesar, they are vanished. — II, ii. 

10. A lioness hath whelped in the street. — II, ii. 

b. Find in Julius Caesar five other examples of this sounding 

of a silent syllable. 


F 

Occasionally, in order to lend special emphasis to a thought 
or to indicate a pause for effect, Shakespeare fails to write an 
entire pentameter line. How much of the line is missing in 
the following examples? 

a. 1. Be gone! — I, i. 

2. May we do so? — I, i. 

3. ’Tis just. — I, ii. 

4. As easily as a king. -— I, ii. 

5. And kill him in the shell. — II, i. 

6. Let me work. — II, i. 

7. Will he be satisfied. — III, i. 

8. Lend me your hand. — III, i. 

9. Unto their issue. — III, ii. 

10. Come hither, sirrah. — V, iii. 

b. Find three other examples of incomplete lines in the play. 

VI. EXERCISES AND PROJECTS 

Narration 

1. In I, ii, 100 f., Cassius tells Brutus how he challenged 
Caesar to a swimming match and defeated him. Can you 
think of any other famous swimming feats in history and 


136 


STUDY SUGGESTIONS 


legend? Look up the story of Hero and Leander, for example; 
or in a life of Lord Byron learn how he swam the Hellespont. 
Tell about some modern swimmers — those who conquered 
the English Channel, or who have made speed records in the 
water. Arrange your material in compact form, and give a 
talk on “Famous Swimmers.” Conclude your talk by read¬ 
ing aloud the lines about Cassius and Csesar. 

2. Write a series of extracts for the diary of Portia, in which 
she tells how she first became convinced that her husband 
was engaged in some dangerous enterprise, how she ap¬ 
proached him and sought to win his confidence, how terrified 
she was during the time when Csesar was being assassinated, 
how she worried about Brutus while he was off fighting (two 
hundred words). 

3. Many years later Lucius tells a friend some interesting 
episodes that occurred while he was in the service of Brutus. 
Put what he says in the form of a dialogue, with the friend 
occasionally interrupting with a question or a comment. 

4. Imagine yourself listening to the speeches of both 
Brutus and Antony. Tell what happened. Were you more 
influenced by Brutus or Antony? 

5. Put into your own words an account of the Battle of 
Philippi. Write the account as if you were a historian, and 
if necessary accompany your narration with a diagram. 

6. Sum up each scene of the play in a sentence, laying 
your stress on the development of the plot. Arrange the 
sentences in paragraphs corresponding to the acts. Now read 
what you have written, and notice whether the story of the 
play is clearly narrated in your sentences. 

Exposition 

1. Write an essay to be called “The Character of Caesar.” 
Divide this into two main sections, in the former of which 
you give material gathered from the play by Shakespeare. 
In the latter give facts or ideas gathered from other sources, 
so as to show the Caesar of history. 

2. Compare the Caesar shown in Shakespeare’s play with 
the Caesar shown in Bernard Shaw’s Csesar and Cleopatra. 
Which is truer to history? 


EXERCISES AND PROJECTS 


137 


3 What can we tell about Shakespeare from Julius Caesar? 
Make a list of conclusions. For example, was he a careful 
scholar? Was he^interested in politics? Did he appreciate 
the greatness of Caesar? 


4 As we read Brutus’s soliloquy, II, i, 10 f., it is obvious 
that his conscience troubles him sorely at the thought of 
killing Caesar, who has been kind to him personally, and whose 
nature is such that Brutus himself is bound to admit that 
the quarrel will bear no color [pretext] for the thing he is.” 
How, then, can the killing of Caesar be justified? Brutus finds 
an argument in the possibility that Caesar, if he be “aug¬ 
mented — that is, if greater power be given him, — will be 
changed m nature. He says that often a man pretends to be 
lowly and humble until he has attained the top of the ladder 
oi his ambition, but that thereafter he becomes conceited and 
dangerous. It is necessary, therefore, to think of Caesar as 
one who holds m himself the possibility of great mischief; and 
he compares Caesar now to a snake that lies dormant until 
the bright sunlight of power awakens him, and now to a 
serpent’s egg which would prove mischievous if one allowed 
hntch. It is best to avoid these possible dangers bv 
killing Caesar. 

Now read the soliloquy again, close your book, and put the 
thought into your own words. 


5. Is there any difference in the relationship of Portia to 
Brutus as compared with that of Calpurnia to Caesar? Which 
of the two men regards his wife as an equal? Which humors 
her like a child? Which of the two women comes closer to the 
ideal woman of to-day (one hundred words)? 

6. Explain why it was that the assassination of Caesar 
failed to restore freedom to Rome (one hundred words). 

7. What was Shakespeare’s opinion of mobs? To answer 
this question, so far as Julius Caesar permits a reply, consult 
Casca’s account of how the “rabblement” acted when Caesar 
refused the crown (I, ii, 220 f.); analyze the reaction of the 
crowd to the speeches of Brutus and Antony (III, ii); and 
consider the humor of the citizens in connection with the 
tribunes (I, i) and Cinna the poet (III, iii). Does Shake¬ 
speare show the mob as really wanting to be free, or did they 
in their hearts yearn for a dictator? Prepare an essay (one 


138 


STUDY SUGGESTIONS 


hundred fifty to two hundred words), called “Shakespeare’s 
Opinion of Mobs.” 

8. Is Brutus rightly called “the last of all the Romans”? 
Explain in what way he deserves the title (seventy-five words). 

9. What lesson in civics can we draw from Julius Caesar? 
Does the play mean anything to us as Americans? Does it 
warn us as to any dangers in our own democracy? Write 
an essay (one hundred words) on “ Julius Caesar and America.” 

10. Prepare a talk or a paragraph on one of the following 
topics: 

a. The character of Cassius. 

b. The character of Brutus. 

c. The character of Casca. 

d. The character of Mark Antony. 

e. The character of Portia. 

/. Supernatural events in Julius Caesar. 

g. A comparison of Csesar and King David. 

h. A comparison of Caesar and Napoleon. 

i. A comparison of Caesar and Washington. 

j. A comparison of Brutus and Robespierre. 

k. A comparison of Brutus and Lincoln. 

l. The character in Julius Caesar whom I like best. 

Description 

1. Poets and dramatists, often novelists too, are inclined to 
make use of a device that Ruskin called the “pathetic fal¬ 
lacy.” This device is one by which nature is made to sym¬ 
pathize with the moods of a particular person; as if the sun 
always shone when you were happy or hid behind a cloud when 
you were not. Shakespeare makes use of this device. Find 
examples of his use of it in Julius Caesar, and write a para¬ 
graph on the subject, with this title, “When Nature Sym¬ 
pathizes.” Be sure to examine, among others, I, iii, and V, 
iv (one hundred fifty words). 

2. How would you distinguish the appearance of the 
various characters in the play? Imagine yourself selecting 
actors for parts in a performance. How ought the actor to 
look who plays Cassius? Casca? Mark Antony? Octavius? 
In what ways does Calpurnia differ in appearance from Por¬ 
tia? Which character in the play ought to be the most digni¬ 
fied? Give your ideas in about one hundred fifty words. 


139 


EXERCISES AND PROJECTS 

3. Which is the most striking scene in the play? Picture 
the setting of this scene in about seventy-five words. 

4. Describe the setting for II, i, as you think it ought to 
be (seventy-five words). 

5. In your opinion, which adjective or group of adjectives 
that Shakespeare uses gives you the most vivid idea of some 
physical feature, either of a person or a thing? Would you 
select, for example, Caesar’s description of Cassius as having 
“a lean and hungry look” (fifty words)? 

Argumentation and Discussion 

1. Thomas Wentworth Higginson once said: “Strictly 
speaking, there is no literary fame worth envying save Shake¬ 
speare’s; and Shakespeare’s amounted to this: that, of the 
people one meets in the streets of any city, the majority will 
not even have heard of him.” Is the latter part of this state¬ 
ment true, in your opinion? Make a little investigation among 
your acquaintances, and see how much they know about 
Shakespeare. Discuss the whole matter in an essay (one 
hundred fifty words). 

2. Has Cassius a good knowledge of human nature? 
Prove your answer by means of I, ii and iii; II, i; and IV, 
iii (seventy-five words). 

3. Divide your composition paper into two equal sections 
by ruling a vertical line down the center. At the top of the 
paper write “To Kill or Not to Kill.” At the head of one 
column put “For,” and “Against” at the head of the other 
column. In the former column state the various reasons that 
Brutus might have for joining the conspiracy to assassinate 
Caesar, numbering the reasons as you go along. In the 
other column state his reasons for not joining the conspiracy, 
numbering these too. At the top of the paper, underneath the 
title, place as a motto this line, taken from Brutus’s own 
speech to Cassius in I, ii: 

I would not , Cassius; yet I love him well. 

4. Look up the word honour in Webster, and note how many 
meanings the word has. In how many of these meanings is 
honour the keynote of the character of Brutus? Prove your 
points by referring to incidents or by quoting lines of the 
play (one hundred words). 


140 


STUDY SUGGESTIONS 


5. G. B. Harrison says of Shakespeare’s Brutus that 
“he has the highest ideals for humanity and complete igno¬ 
rance of men.” Prove or disprove this statement (one hundred 
words). 

7. Just what task did Brutus set himself? Was it too great 
for him? Was he a practical man? What mistakes in judg¬ 
ment did he make? Could any man have carried through the 
task Brutus assumed? Explain your answers by references 
to the play and to the condition of Rome in those days (one 
hundred fifty words). 

8. Was the death of Caesar a benefit to the Roman state? 
Did the conspirators accomplish any good (one hundred 
words)? 

9. Mark Antony’s speech has been described as a typical 
“stump speech.” What does this phrase mean? Is it justi¬ 
fied (seventy-five words)? 

10. Was Antony sincere? Read all his speeches carefully 
before you answer this question (one hundred words). 

11. Did Shakespeare believe in ghosts? Can you mention 
any other plays of his in which ghosts appear (fifty words) ? 

12. Is Mark Antony right when he says of Brutus : 

All the conspirators, save only he, ^ 

Did that they did in envy of great'Caesar; 

He only, in a general honest thought 
And common good to all, made one of them. 

13. Did Brutus deserve his fate? Justify your answer 
(one hundred words). 

14. What, in your opinion, was the chief idea that Shake¬ 
speare wanted to bring out in Julius Caesar (one hundred 
words)? 

15. Do people to-day resemble those in the play? Are 
business men in important positions ever like Caesar? Are 
modern reformers like Brutus? Are there jealous mischief- 
makers like Cassius? Skillful orators and politicians like 
Mark Antony? Capable young men like Octavius? Give 
your opinion in about one hundred fifty words. 


EXERCISES AND PROJECTS 


141 


Analysis of Dramatic Technique 


1. The hero of every tragedy is said to have a fault in his 
character — called “the tragic flaw” — which brings about 
his downfall. What, in your opinion, is the tragic flaw of 
Brutus? Why do you think so (one hundred fifty words)? 

2. Which is more important in Julius Caesar — the plot 
or the characters? Justify your answer (one hundred words). 

3. Why did Shakespeare call the play Julius Caesar and 
not Marcus Brutus? Which title attracts you personally 
more (seventy-five words)? 

4. In view of the fact that the Elizabethan theater lacked 
a curtain to shut off the front stage from the view of the au¬ 
dience, examine the close of each scene, and tell how Shake¬ 
speare gets his characters off the stage. What does he do, for 
example, when some one has been killed (seventy-five words)? 

5. Why is it, do you think, that Caesar’s Ghost appears 
only once to Brutus on the stage , although it actually appears 
to Brutus several times (See V, v, 17f.) (seventy-five words)? 

6. Is Julius Caesar easy or difficult to perform in vour 
judgment? Why (one hundred words)? 

7. Make a list of the eighteen scenes of the play, and give 
for each scene the following facts: time, place, plot point. For 
example: 


Act I, Scene 1: Time, February 15, 44 
Plot Point, First Move against Caesar. 


Place, Rome; 


Matters of Style 

1. What makes a speech a good one? Give some charac¬ 
teristics of an effective oration, basing your remarks on a com¬ 
parison of the speeches of Brutus and Mark Antony in III, ii. 

2. One finds in Shakespeare numerous words or forms that 
have gone out of use or that are employed to-day only in 
poetry. Comment on the examples given below: 

a. (1) And that same eye whose bend doth awe the world 
Did lose his luster. — I, ii. 

(2) What hath proceeded worthy note to-day. — I, ii. 


142 


STUDY SUGGESTIONS 


(3) Whiles they behold a greater than themselves. — I, ii. 

(4) And tell me truly what thou think?st of him. — I, ii. 

(5) At every putting-by mine honest neighbors shouted. — 

I, ii. 

(6) For he swounded and fell down at it. — I, ii. 

(7) He plucked me ope his doublet. — I, ii. 

(8) An I had been a man of any occupation. — I, ii. 

(9) Is Decius Brutus and Trebonius there? — I, iii. 

(10) Where I have took them up. — II, i. 

h. Find five other examples of constructions in Julius Caesar 
that are no longer used at the present time. 

3. Shakespeare, like every poet, loves alliteration — the 
device by which several words in proximity or the accented 
syllables of such words begin with the same letter or sound. 

What words alliterate in the following lines? 

a. (1) To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome. — I, i. 

(2) You bear too stubborn and too strange a hand. — I, ii. 

(3) For some new honors that are heap’d on Caesar. — I, ii. 

(4) Men at some time are masters of their fates! — I, ii. 

(5) Have bar’d my bosom to the thunder-stone. — I, iii. 

(6) That lowliness is young ambition’s ladder. — II, i. 

(7) Let’s carve him as a dish fit for the gods. 

Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds. — II, i. 

(8) Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber. — II, i. 

(9) And ghosts did shriek and squeal about the streets. — 

II, ii. 

(10) Be near me that I may remember you. -— II, ii. 

h. Find five other examples of alliteration in the play. 

4. a. Shakespeare is very fond of the device called pun, 
or play upon words. With the sound of what words does he 
juggle in the following lines? 

(1) Truly, sir, in respect of a fine workman, I am but, as you 

would say, a cobbler. — I, i. 

(2) Be not out with me; yet, if you be out, I can mend you. 

— I, i. 

(3) I am, indeed, sir, a surgeon to old shoes; when they are in 

great danger, I recover them. — I, i. 

(4) I had as lief not be as live to be 

In awe of such a thing as I myself. — I, ii. 

(5) Now is it Rome indeed and room enough. — I, ii. 

(6) He spoke Greek. . . . Those that understood him smiled 

at one another and shook their heads; but, for mine 
own part, it was Greek to me. — I, ii. 


EXERCISES AND PROJECTS 


143 


(7) O let us have him, for his silver hairs 
Will purchase us a good opinion 

And buy men’s voices to commend our deeds. — II, i. 

(8) O world, thou wast the forest to this hart; 

And this indeed, O world, the heart of thee. — III, i. 

(9) Here is a mourning Rome, a dangerous Rome, 

No Rome of safety for Octavius yet. — III, i. 

b. Find examples of puns elsewhere: in the funny column 
of your newspaper, in books of humor, or the like. 

Miscellaneous 

1. Arrange this program for Shakespeare’s Birthday, 
April 23: 

a. An account of Shakespeare’s life (five minutes). 

b. Tributes to Shakespeare (passages recited by ten pupils). 

c. A famous poem on Shakespeare (use that by Ben Jonson or 

that by Milton; or repeat the stanzas from Longfellow, 
page lxxxiii). 

d. A scene from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (the quarrel scene, 

IV, iii, is suggested). 

e. A brief talk by some member of the community, by a visiting 

actor, or by some scholar. 

2. Prepare an interest diagram. This is a graph, which shows 
by the waves in a line where one’s interest was greater, where 
it was less in the reading of Julius Caesar. The jokes of the 
commoners might produce an upward trend; during the 
scoldings of the tribunes it might fall; when Caesar entered, 
it would probably go up. 

3. If you are a stamp collector, can you find — and bring 
to class — any stamps of interest in connection with Julius 
Caesar or Shakespeare? Or has Greece any stamps that com¬ 
memorate the ancient gods? 

4. See if you can produce a model, in cardboard, clay, or 
other material, of the theater as it existed in Shakespeare’s 
time. Possibly some students of special manual skill may be 
able to make dolls or puppets to represent the characters in 
Julius Caesar. (The teacher may wish to consult, for an 
interesting account of an experiment with “A Miniature 
Elizabethan Theater,” English Journal , March, 1925.) 

5. Have you any pictures of Italy, of England, of Shake¬ 
speare and his times, of Caesar and the ancient Romans, to show 
an audience? Bring them to class, and prepare a talk on them. 


144 


STUDY SUGGESTIONS 


VII. TALKS ON ROMAN MANNERS 
AND CUSTOMS 

(Material for these talks may be obtained in many places, 
but particularly useful sources are the following books. 
Consult in each volume the table of contents and the index.) 

Bailey, Cyril, editor. The Legacy of Rome 
Becker, W. A. Gallus , or Roman Scenes in the Time of Augustus 
Davis, William Stearns. A Day in Old Rome 
Fowler, W. Warde. Social Life at Rome in the Age of Cicero 
Mills, Dorothy. The Book of the Ancient Romans 
Petrie, A. An Introduction to Roman History , Literature , and 
Antiquities 

Poland, F., Reisinger, E., and Wagner, R. The Culture oj 
Ancient Greece and Rome 

Subjects for Talks 

Dress of Roman Men (Becker, Mills, Davis, Poland) 

Dress of Roman Women (Becker, Mills, Davis, Poland) 

Forums in Rome (Davis, Fowler) 

Gladiatorial Contests in Rome (Davis, Fowler) 

Latin Literature (Mills, Petrie, Bailey, Poland) 

Position'of Roman Women (Davis, Fowler, Petrie, Bailey, 219 f., 
Poland) 

Roman Architecture (Mills, Bailey, Poland) 

Roman Army (Davis, Petrie, Poland) 

Roman Banks, Bankers, and Money (Davis, Fowler, Petrie) 
Roman Books and Booksellers (Becker, Davis, Poland) 

Roman Clients (Becker, Davis) 

Roman Clocks and Calendars (Becker, Petrie) 

Roman Commerce, Shops, and Shipping (Davis, Mills, Fowler, 
Bailey, Poland) 

Roman Education (Becker, Mills, Davis, Fowler, Petrie, Poland) 
Roman Funerals (Becker, Davis, Petrie, Poland) 

Roman Games (Becker, Mills, Davis, Fowler) 

Roman Gymnasiums and Baths (Becker, Davis) 

Roman Household Utensils (Becker, Poland) 

Roman Inns (Becker, Davis) 

Roman Law and Law Courts (Petrie; Poland, page 306 f.) 
Roman Meals (Becker, Mills, Davis, Fowler, Poland) 

Roman Oratory (Davis) 

Roman Physicians (Davis) 

Roman Religion (Becker, Mills, Davis, Fowler, Petrie, Poland) 
Roman Roads (Mills, Bailey) 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


145 


Roman Streets (Davis) 

Slaves among the Romans (Becker, Mills, Davis, Fowler, Petrie) 
The Latin Language (Mills, Petrie, Poland) 

The Roman House (Becker, Mills, Davis, Fowler, Petrie, Poland) 
The Roman Villa and Gardens (Becker, Davis, Fowler) 


VIII. TALKS ON ELIZABETHAN MAN¬ 
NERS AND CUSTOMS 

(Material for these talks may be obtained in many places, 
but particularly useful sources are the following books. Con¬ 
sult in each volume the table of contents and the index.) 

Ditchfield, P. H. The England of Shakespeare 
Stephenson, H. T. The Elizabethan People 
Synge, M. B. A Short History of Social Life in England, Chaps. 
XIII-XV 

Traill, H. D., editor. Social England, Vols. Ill and IV 
Various Authors. Shakespeare’s England: An Account of the Life 
and Manners of His Age (referred to as England , Vol. I or II) 
Ward, H. S. and C. W. Shakespeare ’s Town and Times 


Subjects for Talks 

Agriculture under the Tudors (Traill, Ditchfield, England, I) 
Alchemy and Astrology (Traill, Ditchfield, England, I) 
Architecture and Art under Elizabeth (Traill, England, II, 
Synge, Ditchfield) 

Beginnings of Science in Elizabeth’s Reign (Traill, England, 1) 
Coins of Shakespeare’s Times ( England , I) 

Commerce and Industry in Elizabeth’s Reign (Traill, Synge, 
Ditchfield, England, I) 

Country Life (Stephenson, England , I, 346 f.) 

Court of James I. (Traill, Synge, England, I) 

Court of Queen Elizabeth ( England , I) 

Dancing in Elizabethan England ( England , II, Ditchfield) 

Defeat of the Great Armada and Its Results (Traill, Ditchfield) 
Dress under the Stuarts (Traill) 

Elizabethan Actors and Acting ( England , II, Ditchfield) 
Elizabethan Christenings, Weddings, and Funerals {England, II, 
Synge, Stephenson) 

Elizabethan Costumes (Traill, England, II, Synge, Ditchfield) 
Elizabethan Furniture {England, II) 

Elizabethan Literature (Traill, Ditchfield) 

Elizabethan Sports (Traill, III, 535f.; England, II; Stephenson, 
Ditchfield) 


146 


STUDY SUGGESTIONS 


Exploration under Elizabeth (Traill, England, I) 

Exploration and Colonization under the Stuarts (Traill, Eng¬ 
land, I) 

Food, Drink, and Manners in Elizabethan England (Traill, III, 
528 f.; England, II, Ditchfield) 

Grades of Society in Elizabethan England (Traill, III, 516 f.; 
England, I, 8 f.) 

London in Elizabeth’s Reign ( England , II, Ditchfield) 

Music in the Tudor Period (Traill, England, II) 

Public Health under the Tudors (Traill, England, I, 413 f.) 

Queen Elizabeth {England,. I) 

Rogues and Vagabonds in Shakespeare’s Day {England, II, 
Ditchfield) 

Schools in Shakespeare’s Times {England, I) 

Shakespeare’s Ancestors and Family (Ward, Ditchfield) 
Shakespeare’s Childhood and Boyhood (Ward) 

Shakespeare’s English {England, II) 

Stratford-on-Avon (Ward, Ditchfield) 

The Belief in Ghosts (Stephenson, England, I, 534 f.) 

The Early Elizabethan Drama (Traill, Ditchfield) 

The Elizabethan Army (Traill, Ditchfield, England, I) 

The Elizabethan Navy (Ditchfield England, I) 

The Elizabethan Theater (Traill, England, II, Ditchfield) 

Town Life in Elizabeth’s Reign (Traill, England, II, Stephenson, 
Ditchfield) 

Witchcraft (Traill, Stephenson, Ditchfield, England, I, 540 f.) 


IX. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER 
READING 

(Bring in a report, oral or written, on one or more of the 
following books. Give a brief summary of the book; and if 
it has anything to do with either Caesar or Shakespeare, men¬ 
tion some facts that it gives. Tell whether you like the book.) 

Tales of Ancient Rome 

Allinson, Anne C. E. Roads from Rome 
Church, A. J. Lords of the World 
Church, A. J. Two Thousand Years Ago 
Clemens, Samuel Langhorne (Mark Twain) 

“The Killing of Julius Caesar Localized” (in Editorial Wild 
Oats ) 

Davis, William Stearns. A Friend of Caesar 
Fenn, G. M. Marcus the Young Centurion 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


147 


Lytton, Lord Bulwer. The Last Days of Pompeii 
Mitchsion, Naomi. The Conquered 
Osborne, Duffield. The Lions Brood 
Wells, R. F. With Caesar s Legions 
Whyte-Melville, J. G. The Gladiators 

Stories of Shakespeare’s Days 

Bailey, H. C. The Sea Captain 

Barnes, James. Drake and His Yeomen 

Bennett, John. Master Skylark 

Comstock, Harriet T. The Queen s Hostage 

Quiller-Couch, Sir Arthur T. Shakespeare's Christmas 

Johnston, Mary. Sir Mortimer 

Kingsley, Charles. Westward Ho! 

Leighton, Robert. The Golden Galleon 
Major, Charles. Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall 
Sabatini, Rafael. The Sea-Hawk 
Scott, Sir Walter. Kenilworth 
Stephens, Robert N. A Gentleman Player 

Other Plays by Shakespeare that Young 
People Like 

A Comedy of Errors (disguises and confusion) 

A Midsummer-Night's Dream (fairies and clowns) 

As You Like It (adventures in a wilderness) 

Coriolanus (also about Rome) 

Henry V (about a great hero) 

Romeo and Juliet (the world’s greatest love story) 

The Tempest (on a desert island) 

More About Shakespeare 

Adams, J. Q. A Life of William Shakespeare 
Alden, Raymond Macdonald. Shakespeare 
Boas, F. S. Shakespeare and His Predecessors 
Brandes, George. William Shakespeare 
Quiller-Couch, Sir A. T. The Warwickshire Avon 
Dowden, Edward. A Shakespeare Primer 
Harrison, G. B. The Genius of Shakespeare 
Kaufman, Paul. Outline Guide to Shakespeare 
Matthews, Brander. Shakespeare as a Playwright 
Rolfe, William J. Shakespeare the Boy 
Shaw, George Bernard. The “ Dark Lady " of the Sonnets 
Timmins, Samuel. A History of Warwickshire 


148 


STUDY SUGGESTIONS 


Other Plays in Which Characters in 
“ Julius Caesar ” Appear 
Dryden, John. All for Love 

Masefield, John. The Tragedy of Pompey the Great 
Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra 
Shaw, George Bernard. Caesar and Cleopatra 

Roman Manners and Annals 

Bailey, Cyril, editor. The Legacy of Rome 
Becker, W. A. Gallus, or Roman Scenes in the Time of Augustus 
Bryant, E. E. Short History of Rome 
Davis, William Stearns. A Day in Old Rome 
Davis, William Stearns. Rome and the West 
Ferrero, Guglielmo. Characters and Events from Roman History 
Ferrero, Guglielmo. The Greatness and Decline of Rome (Vols. 
I and II) 

Fowler, W. Warde. Caesar 

Fowler, W. Warde. Social Life at Rome in the Age of Cicero 
Froude, J. A. Caesar 
Hall, Jennie. Buried Cities 
Herzberg, Max J. Myths and Their Meaning 
Matheson, P. E. The Growth of Rome 
Mills, Dorothy. The Book of the Ancient Romans 
Mommsen, Theodor. The History of Rome (Vols. Ill and IV) 
Petrie, A. An Introduction to Roman History, Literature, and 
Antiquities 

Plutarch, Life of Caesar, Life of Antony 

Poland, F., Reisinger, E., and Wagner, R. The Culture of 
Ancient Greece and Rome 
Shumway, Edgar S. A Day in Ancient Rome 
Trollope, Anthony. The Commentaries of Caesar 

Elizabethan Ways of Living 

Ditchfield, P. H. The England of Shakespeare 
Stephenson, H. T. The Elizabethan People 
Synge, M. B. A Short History of Social Life in England, Chaps, 
xiii-xv 

Traill, H. D., editor. Social England, Vols. Ill and IV 
Various Authors. Shakespeare 1 s England: An Account of the 
Life and Manners of His Age 
Ward, H. S. and C. W. Shakespeare’s Town and Times 
Warner, Charles Dudley. The People for Whom Shakespeare 
Wrote 


MISCELLANEOUS SUGGESTIONS 149 


Traveling in Italy 

Forman, Henry J. The Ideal Italian Tour 
Howells, William Dean. Italian Journeys 
Laughlin, Clara. So You re Going to Italy! 

Smith, F. Hopkinson. Gondola Days 
Williams, Egerton. Hill Towns of Italy 
Williams, Egerton. Plain Towns of Italy 

Traveling in England 

Chancellor, E. B. Pleasure Haunts of London During Four 
Centuries 

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. English Note Books 
Irving, Washington. The Sketch-Book 
James, Henry. English Hours 
Laughlin, Clara. So You're Going to England! 

Morton, H. V. When You Go to London 


X. MISCELLANEOUS SUGGESTIONS 

Shortening the Play for Study or for 
Presentation 

If for any reason the play needs to be shortened, the fol¬ 
lowing suggestions may be useful. They are based in large 
part on the prompt-book used by the noted actor, Fritz 
Leiber, in his production of Julius Caesar. Mr. Leiber, as a 
matter of convenience, somewhat changed the numbering of 
the scenes and at points here and there made combinations: 
Scenes 1 and 2 of Act I, for example, are played as a single 
scene. 

Omit I, iii. 

Omit conversation with Ligarius, II, i, last thirty-five lines. 

Omit II, iii and iv. 

Omit conversation with Servant, III, i, last twenty-three lines. 
Omit conversation with Servant, III, ii, last eleven lines. 

Omit III, iii. 

Omit IV, i. 

Omit interruption by the Poet, IV, iii, 129-131. 

Omit V, i, up to the entrance of Brutus. 

Omit V, ii. 

Omit V, iv. 


150 STUDY SUGGESTIONS 

Suggestions for Memory Passages 

The following passages in Julius Caesar are especially suit¬ 
able for memorization: 

Short — 

1. I, ii, 139-141 (Men at some time). 

2. II, i, 229-233 (Boy! Lucius! Fast asleep?). 

3. II, i, 288-303 (You are my true). 

4. II, ii, 26-27 (What can be avoided). 

5. II, ii, 32-37 (Cowards die many times). 

6. Ill, i, 58-73 (I could be well moved). 

7. Ill, i, 148-150 (O mighty Caesar!). 

8. IV, ii, 18-27 (Thou hast described). 

9. IV, iii, 218-224 (There is a tide). 

10. V, v, 33-42 (Countrymen). 

11. V, v, 68-75 (This was the noblest Roman). 

Long — 

1. I, ii, 135-161 (Why, man, he doth bestride). 

2. I, ii, 197-213 (Would he were fatter!) 

3. Ill, i, 254-275 (O, pardon me). 

4. Ill, ii, 78-112, 123-142, 173-201, 212-232 
(Friends, Romans, countrymen). 

A Brief True-False Test 

Copy the number of each of the following statements; then 
place alongside the number of the statement of the word 
“true,” if you think it true; the word “false,” if you think 
it false. 

1. The Tribunes remained unpunished for disrobing Caesar’s 

images. 

2. Caesar was overcome by Cassius in a swimming match. 

3. Casca sneered at the stupidity of the Roman mob. 

4. Caesar was not anxious to become king of Rome. 

5. Calpurnia did not want Caesar to go to the senate house. 

6. Marcus Brutus persuaded Caesar to attend the session of the 

Senate. 

7. Brutus wished to have Mark Antony killed at the same time 

that Caesar was killed. 

8. Cassius was opposed to letting Antony speak at Caesar’s 

funeral. 

9. Mark Antony is much more important after the death of 

Caesar than he was before the death of Caesar. 

10. Brutus was present while Mark Antony delivered his oration 
over the body of Caesar. 


MISCELLANEOUS SUGGESTIONS 151 


11. The mob was friendly to Mark Antony from the very start. 

12. Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus formed the Second Triumvir¬ 

ate. 

13. Cicero was killed after the death of Caesar. 

14. Brutus quarreled with Cassius over a question of money. 

15. Brutus was kind to his servant Lucius. 

16. Brutus saw Caesar’s Ghost a single time. 

17. When Portia heard that Brutus was dead, she committed 

suicide. 

18. In the Battle of Philippi, Cassius was successful; Brutus was 

defeated. 

19. Both Antony and Octavius spoke well of Brutus after his 

death. 

20. The entire play is enacted in Rome. 


A Location Test in “Julius Caesar” 

Where in the play are the following lines located? That is, 
tell (1) who spoke them, (2) on what occasion, (3) to whom. 

1. These growing feathers plucked from Caesar’s wing, 

Will make him fly an ordinary pitch. 

2. Beware the ides of March! 

3. Men at some time are masters of their fate. 

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, 

But in ourselves, that we are underlings. 

4. Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; 

He thinks too much: such men are dangerous. 

5. It was Greek to me. 

6. A dish fit for the gods. 

7. Cowards die many times before their deaths, 

The valiant never taste of death but once. 

8. When beggars die there are no comets seen; 

The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes. 

9. Et tu, Brute? 

10. The evil that men do lives after them; 

The good is oft interred with their bones. 

11. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. 

12. So are they all, all honorable men. 

13. Ambition should be made of sterner stuff. 

14. If you have tears, prepare to shed them now. 

15. This was the most unkindest cut of all. 

16. O, what a fall was there, my countrymen! 

17. An itching palm. 

18. There is a tide in the affairs of men, 

Which, taken at its flood, leads on to fortune. 


f 



GLOSSARY 

Construe my speeches better, if you may. — Love’s Labor’s Lost 

(The first, or Roman, numeral after each explanation indicates the 
act; the second, or small Roman, numeral indicates the scene. Dr. Per. 
refers to the dramatis personae.) 

abide (III, i; III, ii), pay the penalty for. 
accidental evils (IV, iii), evils beyond one’s control, 
according to the which (III, i),- according to the way the people take 
it. 

accoutered [(I, ii), with the full equipment of a soldier, such'as 
belt, hanger, trappings, and the like. 

action (III, ii), the gestures which accompany the words of a 
speech. There is a maxim often given to pupils of oratory: “ Action, 
action; not too much action.” 

acting . . . motion (II, i). Shakespeare here has inverted the 
natural order, to show how intent the mind of Rrutus now is upon 
carrying out the deed he has planned. “ The first motion ” is the 
beginning of the plan of the dreadful deed — the killing of Caesar; 
and Rrutus says the interval has been like a hideous nightmare. 

adder (II, i). The only poisonous snake to be found in England 
is the adder, which sometimes reaches a length of two feet. The 
American snakes by this name are harmless, 
addressed (III, i), ready. 
iEneas (I, ii). See page xxxf. 
affability (II, i), courtesy, amiability. 

affections swayed (II, i), passions swayed him or influenced him. 
against (I, iii), across the way from. 

ague (II, ii), a fever alternating chill and fever. Rome in ancient 
times was especially susceptible to malaria, producing these symp¬ 
toms. 

alchemy (I, iii). Alchemy, the forerunner of our chemistry of to¬ 
day, devoted itself chiefly to finding the elixir vitae , or fountain of eter¬ 
nal youth, and the philosopher's stone, a compound for changing base 
metals, like lead and iron, into gold. Casca says that Rrutus’s 
support ( countenance ) will act like the philosopher’s stone; it will 
change those things which appear base ( offensive) in us to virtue and 
worthiness. 

alive (IV, iii), in a lively, brisk way or, perhaps, in a way which 
concerns the living, not the dead. 

ambition (III, ii), a desire for rank and honors beyond what was 
fitting. Note that the word as Shakespeare has both Rrutus and 
Antony use it does not mean quite what it means to-day. It implies 
a certain greediness or lack of restraint, 
an (I, ii), if. _ 

angel (III, ii; IV, iii). The idea of an angel (or “ messenger ”) is a 
Jewish or Christian, not a Roman, idea. Here it Stands for the 
daemon, or genius, or guardian spirit. 

153 


154 


GLOSSARY 


answered (IV, i), encountered, met with a defense; (V, i), granted, 
apparition (IV, iii), ghost. 

apprehensive (III, i), quick to learn, intelligent, 
apt (III, i), fit, ready. 

apt thoughts (V, iii), easily impressed thoughts. 

are rid (III, ii), have ridden. 

arms across (II, i), arms crossed, folded. 

as his kind (II, i), in accordance with the nature of his species, 
as (I, ii, 1. 34), such as or that. 

Ate (pronounced as two syllables) (III, i), the goddess of discord. 
See page xxix for Ate in the Trojan War. 

augmented (II, i), increased, grown to maturity, 
augurers (II, ii), priests who interpreted signs and omens of all 
kinds. See present sacrifice in the glossary and the account of augurers, 
page 110. If an animal offered for sacrifice was in any way out of the 
ordinary, it was regarded as an ill omen. But here Caesar, who was 
himself pontifex maximus, or high priest of the Roman religion, gives 
his own interpretation of the fact that a beast had been found with¬ 
out a heart. 

augurers (II, i). See preceding entry. 

awl (I, i), a pointed instrument for piercing small holes in leather or 
wood. 

ay me (II, iv), alas. 

bait (IV, iii), to worry or harass, as in bear-baiting, 
barren (I, ii), childless. Caesar at this time was childless, his 
daughter Julia, who had married Pompey, having died. 

barren-spirited fellow (IV, i), a fellow without originality or 
initiative. 

base (III, i), contemptible. 

base degrees (II, i), the lower steps or rungs in the ladder of am¬ 
bition. 

basest metal (I, i). Lead, copper, iron, and zinc are called “ base 
metals.” Gold, silver, and platinum, which do not readily tarnish or 
oxidize in the open air, are “ noble metals.” Shakespeare also uses 
metal as equivalent to mettle, “ spirit.” 
bastard (V, iv), person of ignoble birth, 
battles (V, i), battalions. 

bay (IV, iii), bark at, assail with barking. In IV, i, the term is 
applied to the barking of dogs as they attack a bear at the stake. 

bayed (III, i), brought to bay, or to a standstill. The figure is 
taken from the hunting of deer or other animals, and refers to the 
moment when the hounds at last force the creature to turn and face 
its foes. 

bear me a bang (III, iii), I’ll see to it that you receive a bang, 
bear hard (I, ii; II, i; III, i), has a grudge against, 
be content (IV, ii), say no more, restrain yourself for the present, 
behaviors (I, ii), my conduct on various occasions. We use this 
word only in the singular to-day. 

beholding to you (III, ii), under obligations to you. 
belike (III, ii), most likely, 
bend (I, ii), look. 

bending their expedition (IV, iii), directing their line of march. 


GLOSSARY 


155 


bestow thy time with me (V, v), become my servant or follower, 
best respect (I, ii), highest respectability, people most highly re¬ 
garded. 

bethink me (IV, iii), think or decide, 
betimes (II, i; IV, iii), early, soon. 

bills (V, ii), billets or letters, containing the directions for the 
battle. 

bills of outlawry (IV, iii), proclamations that certain persons had 
been outlawed and their property condemned, 
bird of night (I, iii), the owl. 

blood ill-tempered (IV, iii), disposition not properly tempered or 
regulated. 

bloody sign of battle (V, i). “ The next morning, by break of day, 
the signal of battle was set out in Brutus’s and Cassius’s camps, which 
was a scarlet cloak.” — Plutarch, 
bondman (I, iii; III, ii), slave. 

bootless (III, i), in vain. Boot here has no connection with the 
word boot, meaning a “ foot covering it is derived rather from an 
old English word, bot, meaning “ advantage.” We still use the ex¬ 
pression to “ pay something to boot,” meaning “ as an additional 
compensation or advantage.” 

braved (IV, iii), defied, challenged. 

break with him (II, i), break the news to him, broach the con¬ 
spiracy to him. 

brother (II, i), brother-in-law, since Cassius had married Junia, 
the sister of Brutus. 

brook’d (I, ii), put up with, tolerated. 

budge (IV, iii), give way resistingly, walk away. 

bustling rumor (II, iv), a confused, prolonged noise. 

by Caesar (III, i), beside Caesar. 

by means whereof (I, ii), as a result of which. 

by this (I, iii), by this time. 

by this face (V, i), by putting on this face or appearance. 

Caesar (III, ii). Originally the cognomen of Caius Julius Caesar, 
this word after his death became part of the title of every Boman 
emperor; we speak, for example, of the “ lives of the twelve Caesars.” 
Later it came to mean a ruler or emperor; and from it was derived 
the German kaiser and the Bussian czar. When the Third Citizen 
says of Brutus, “ Let him be Caesar,” he is using the word as it came 
to be used for centuries after Caesar’s death, 
call in question (IV, iii), consider, examine. 

capitol (III, i), the seat of the government of Borne. See page xx. 
Many books and writings on the subject previous to Shakespeare 
stated that it was here that Caesar was killed, although the assassina¬ 
tion really took place in Pompey’s portico. 

captives (III, ii), prisoners of war, whose ransoms were paid into the 
state treasury. 

carrion men (III, i). The number of dead would be so great that 
there would be no time to bury them. 

carrions (II, i), dead, putrefying flesh; here applied to persons so 
old that they are practically dead. 

cast yourself in wonder (I, iii), throw yourself into a state of 
astonishment. 


156 


GLOSSARY 


Cato (II, i; V, i). Marcus Porcius Cato (96-46 b.c.) was one of 
the last to display the old Roman virtues of self-restraint, love of the 
republic, and incorruptible honesty. In the war between Pompey 
and Caesar he supported the former; and when Caesar proved victori¬ 
ous, he committed suicide in despair of the republic. Joseph Addison 
wrote a play called Cato, dealing with this noble patriot. 

cautelous (II, i), too cautious and suspicious; possibly, crafty, 
full of deceit. 

censure (III, ii), pass judgment. Only in later times did this word 
come to mean “ judge unfavorably.” 

ceremonies (I, i; I, ii). Objects in connection with a ceremony — 
here, flowers, wreaths, crowns. See images. Superstitious omens 

(II, h). 

change (V, iii), an exchange; that is, in return for the defeat of 
Cassius by Antony, Octavius has been defeated by Brutus. 

charactery of my sad brows (II, i), what it is that the sadness of my 
face expresses or implies. 

charge in legacies (IV, i) , charge against us in the legacies, 
charge my fantasy (III, iii), weigh on my imagination, 
charges (IV, ii), the troops under each command, 
charm (II, i), entreat. 

chastisement (IV, iii), punishment. The name of Cassius protects 
him from the punishment he deserves. 

checked (IV, iii), held in check or servitude, 
cheer (III, i), mood, disposition, 
chidden (I, ii), scolded, reproved, 
chides (IV, iii) scolds. 

chimney-tops (I, i). The Romans had no chimneys, although the 
Elizabethans did. What is this mistake called? 
choler (IV, iii), hot temper, 
civil strife (I, iii), civil war. 
clamours (III, ii), great outcries, cheering, 
clean from (I, iii), quite or wholly away from, 
climate (I, iii), region in which a certain climate prevails, 
close (III, i), close an agreement, come to terms, 
cobbler (I, i). “ 1. A mender of shoes. 2. A clumsy or coarse 
workman; a botcher.” — Webster. Which meaning does Marullus 
give the word? 

cognizance (II, ii), signs or badges to show on which side a person’s 
sympathies and support are enrolled. 

cold demeanor (V, ii), lack of ardor or spirit, 
color (II, i), excuse or pretext. 

color fly (I, ii). White is the conventional color for cowardice; for 
example, we call a coward “ a white-livered person.” In the present 
instance, Caesar’s lips became white; and Cassius thinks of his lips 
as cowards, deserting their colors like a soldier who deserts his flag, 
come by (II, i), get at, attain. 

comets (II, ii). These wayfarers of the sky, with their blazing tails, 
have always excited wonder and sometimes fear. In ancient days 
it was believed that the appearance of a comet in the sky portended 
some great and disastrous event, like the death of a king, 
comment (IV, iii), note of criticism, 
common proof (II, i), a matter of common experience. 


GLOSSARY 157 

commons (III, ii), the common people, as distinguished from the 
nobility. Compare “ the House of Commons.” 

commons (IV, i), a common land, some tract belonging to a 
community as a whole and used for common purposes. Frequently 
the commons was waste land employed for grazing, and many Ameri¬ 
can towns, in their early days, had such a commons. In Boston the 
old commons is a park to-day. 

companion (IV, iii), fellow, used in contempt. 

complexion of the element (I, iii), the appearance of the heavens, 
the condition of the weather. See exercise on the pathetic fallacy, 
page 138. 

concave (I, i), hollow, 
conceit me (III, i), conceive me, judge me. 
conceited (I, iii), conceited, conceived, estimated, 
condemned to have (IV, iii), condemned for having, 
condition (II, i), disposition. 

confidence (II, ii), overconfidence, foolhardiness, 
confounded (III, i), confused, struck with amazement, 
conjointly (I, iii), at the same time, in a way that shows there is 
some union or connection among them. 

conjure (I, ii), perform magic tricks; in particular, summons up 
devils or the spirits of the dead. Some in Shakespeare’s time believed 
it was possible to call up spirits by invoking them with certain power¬ 
ful names. Cassius says that the name of Brutus would be just as 
potent in conjuring as would be that of Caesar. 

conned by rote (IV, iii), studied like a lesson, learned by heart. 

consorted (V, i), accompanied. 

constancy (II, iv), firmness of mind and resolution. 

constant (III, i), fixed, unmoving; (V, i), constantly, unyieldingly. 

construe (I, iii; II, i), interpret. 

contribution (IV, iii), of men and supplies, support generally, 
coronet (I, ii), a small and inferior crown, 
corporal motion (IV, i), the movements of his body, 
could be content (V, i), they would be glad enough not to do this 
but to go elsewhere, and they make this attempt with a bravery that 
is, in reality, full of fear. 

counsel (II, iv), secrets, matters told in confidence, 
counters (IV, iii). These were pieces of metal, wood, ivory, or the 
like, used in keeping accounts. Brutus uses the word as a synonym 
for money. 

course (I, ii), as in a race. This race was one participated in as a 
religious ceremony. At the Feast of the Lupercal (see page xxvi), it 
was the custom for Roman youths to run around the city striking 
every one they met with leathern thongs made of goat skin -— just as 
to-day, at a carnival or Mardi Gras, the revelers will strike passers-by 
with inflated bladders or shower them with confetti. Among the 
Romans, however, it was believed that barren women, so struck by 
the thongs, would be“thereafter blessed by the gods with children. 

courtesy (III, i). This word is used here not as a synonym for 
politeness, but to mean “ a bow.” We still speak of “ making a 
curt’sey.” A “ lowly courtesy ” would be a very low bow. 

covert (IV, i), hidden, secret. The word is the same, of course, as 
covered. 


158 


GLOSSARY 


covetous (IV, iii), miserly, 
craves (II, i), demands, requires, 
credit (III, i), reputation. 

cross’d in conference (I, ii), opposed in a debate, prevented from 
carrying out his wishes. 

call out (I, i), select, pick this occasion for. 
cumber (III, i), encumber — burden, harass, oppress, 
custom of fell deeds (III, i), because people will have become so 
accustomed to cruel deeds that all pity will be choked; mothers will 
disregard even the slaying of their infants. 

cynic (IV, iii). The cynics (from the Greek word meaning “ dog¬ 
like ” or “ snarling ”) were a sect of philosophers who attributed all 
human actions to selfish motives or the love of pleasure. 

damn (IV, i), condemn, 
dank (II, i), damp, humid, 
dearer (III, i), more keenly, deeply, 
dear my lord (II, i), my dear lord. 

Decius Brutus (Dr. Per.). The real name of this character was 
Decimus Brutus. Shakespeare made the mistake because the trans¬ 
lation of Plutarch which he used had made it. 

decree (III, i), a regulation handed down by some high authority, 
like the rxiler of a state. A “ first decree ” would be one coming 
down from ancient times. 

deliver Cassius (I, iii). The Romans, as they adopted the Stoic 
creed (see page 117), assumed as part of this creed the notion that it 
was manly to commit suicide rather than endure ills and misfortune. 
Note, later in the play, how this notion is put into practice, 
demand of them (V, i), challenge them. 

devil (IV, iii). The Greeks and Romans alike believed in good and 
evil daimons (or demons) and in good and evil genii. But they knew 
nothing of angels and devils. See angel in this glossary. 

dint (III, ii), the indentation, the mark!or impression made by a 
blow. 

discomfort (V, iii), embarrass. 

dishonor (IV, iii), that is, if you commit an act of dishonor, it shall 
be regarded as the result of a momentary whim, 
disjoins (II, i), separates. 

disposed (I, ii), inclined toward, set toward. Cassius thinks of 
Brutus as metal which can be melted into a form other than that for 
which it seems intended. 

disposing of new dignities (III, i), that is, in appointing people to 
new offices. 

divers (IV, i), various. 

distract (IV, iii), distracted — crazed, mentally deranged, 
dogs of war (III, i). Mars, the god of war, was often represented 
with dogs and vultures at his side. In Henry V Shakespeare speaks 
of that monarch’s assuming the part of Mars, and at his heels crouch 
Famine, Sword, and Fire, leashed in like hounds. 

domestic fury (III, i), violence within the borders of a country, at 
home. 

doomsday (III, i), the Day of Judgment. Would the Romans use 
this expression, or is it one that came in with Christianity? 


GLOSSARY 


159 


doublet (I, ii), a close-fitting garment for men, with or without 
sleeves, reaching usually from the neck to the waist. It was worn 
not in Caesar’s time, but from the fifteenth to the seventeenth cen- 
tury. 

do you salutation (IY, ii), give you greetings. 

drachmas (Ill, ii; IY, iii), a drachma was worth about twenty 
cents. 

dramatis personae (Dr. Per.), characters in the play. 

durst (I, ii), dared. Still used at times as the past tense of dare. 

elements (V, v), the original components of anything. For many 
centuries the elements were believed to be four in number: earth, air, 
fire, and water. 

emulation (II, iii), envy. 

enforced (III, ii), exaggerated, emphasized unduly; (IV, iii), 
placed under compulsion or violence. 

enforced ceremony (IV, ii), a politeness that does not come irom 
the heart, but is shown from a sense of duty. 

enfranchisement (III, i), Publius Cimber’s rights of citizenship had 
been taken away. Cassius requests that they be restored, 
engendered (V, iii), gave birth to. 
engaged (II, i), pledged, 
enlarge (IV, ii), speak at length concerning, 
enterprise (III, i), undertaking, 
entertain them (V, v), take them into my service, 
envenomed (V, iii), poisoned. 

envious (II, i; III, ii), spiteful, malignant, malicious, 
envy (II, i), hatred. 

Epicurus (V, i), founder of the sect of philosophers called “ Epi¬ 
cureans.” He taught that peace of mind was the highest good, that 
the gods do not interfere in the government of the world, and that 
they exercise no influence directly on mankind. Such doctrines 
would, of course, exclude belief in the supernatural. 

Erebus (II, i). One of the regions of Hades, according to the 
ancient Greeks and Romans. Shakespeare thinks of it as a dark, 
dreary place. 

et tu, Brute! (Ill, i), thou too, Brutus! 

even virtue (II, i), the calm, temperate, reasonable character of our 
enterprise. 

exalted (I, iii), made as high as. 

exeunt (I, i), Latin for “they go out.” See the singular exit. 
exhalations (II, i), meteors. In I, iii, the speakers have already 
called attention to the fact that the period near the death of Caesar 
was marked by many strange phenomena. One was the frequent 
shooting of meteors across the sky. 

exigent (V, i), decisive moment, pressing necessity, 
exit (I, ii). Latin for “ he goes out.” See also exeunt. 
exorcist (II, i), one who pretends to call up the spirits of the dead 
by magical rites. See note to conjure. 

extenuated (III, ii), lessened, diminished. 

face of men (II, i), either the reliance which we may place in a 
man’s faith because of what we see in his face, or the dejected look 
of the people because of the evils from which they are suffering. 


160 


GLOSSARY 


faction (II, i), conspirators, 
factious (I, iii), active, energetic, 
fain (I, ii), gladly, 
fall (III, i), befall, happen, 
falling sickness (I, ii), epilepsy. 

fall their crests (IY, ii), let fall or droop the plumes worn as a deco¬ 
ration on the head. 

falls to the purpose (III, 1 ), hits the bull s-eye. . „ . 

familiar instances (IV, ii). One meaning of instance is sign, 
token, mark.” This phrase would therefore mean, signs or marks 
of his familiarity or familiar friendship.” . . 

fashion him (II, i), mold him, make his opinions take the proper 

form. „ 

fatal (V, i), foreboding a fatahty or evil. „ 

favor (I, ii), appearance, countenance, face. We still say, Inat 
boy favors his father that is, looks like his father 

fawn (I, ii), flatter, court favor in a cringing fashion, 
fell to spoil (V, iii), started plundering the enemy, 
fellow (III, i; V, iii), an equal. _ • u * n 

ferret (I, ii), an animal of the weasel family. It is white or yellow 
in color, and is noted for its small, red eyes, 
field (V, v), the army on the field of battle, 
figures (II, i), imaginary forms, phantasms, 
fire (V v) It was the Roman custom to burn the dead, 
fire drives out fire (III, i). Just as fire is used to fight fire, so the 
pity which the conspirators felt for the evil state of Rome drove out in 
their hearts the pity they felt on killing Caesar. 

fleering (I, iii), grinning, scornful. . , 

flint (II, i). Obviously in Shakespeare s time the window ledge 
was often regarded as a convenient place for storing the flints used 
(with tinder) for striking lights. 

flood (I, ii). See page xxiii. . . 

flourish (I, ii), a fanfare of the trumpets: a short and lively air 
announcing the coming of some important personage, 
fond (III, i), foolish. 

forced affection (IV, iii), forced loyalty, compulsory adherence. 

formal (II, i), solemn. 

former (V, i), to the fore, in front. 

forms (III, ii), benches. 

forth of doors (III, iii), out of doors. 

fray (II, iv), battle. 

free and friendly conference (IY, ii). To admit a man freely to 
conference is in itself a sign of friendship. To hold him off and insist 
on a formal approach and on ceremony indicates coldness, 
fret (II, i), ornament. 

full of regard and honor (IV, ii), rich in qualities which must win 
him regard and honor. 

funerals (V, iii), funeral ceremonies. 


gamesome (I, ii), fond of sports. 

general (II, i). Brutus says that he has no personal reason lor 
opposing Caesar, aside from considerations of the general good, 
general coffers (III, ii), the common or state treasury. 


GLOSSARY 


161 

done to r Rome° nS °* R ° me tt,e S enera I wrong that has been 

genius (II, i). According to the old Roman idea, each person had 
as an attendant a presiding genius, a beneficent spirit that guarded 
him and guided him; he might have, too, an evil genius , which led 
him astray lhe Romans believed likewise that each family, each 
borne, and the state itself had such a genius, or guardian, 
glanced at (I, ii), hinted at, suggested, 
go along by him (II, i), go home by way of his house, 
goes up (V, i), is sheathed, 
good regard (III, i), good value or worth. 

good respect (V, v), good reputation, one whom people respect, 
gorging (V, 1 ), feeding greedily, 
grace (111, ii), respect. 

grief (I, in; III, ii; IV, ii). The word here means, not sorrow, 
but grievance — a cause for complaint, 
grievous (III, ii), serious, grave, 
grudge (IV, iii), cause of quarrel. 

guilty (II, i). To break a promise proves that the person who does 
so is not really a true-born Roman. 

hands (I, ii), handwritings, 
harlot (II, i), mistress, 
hart (III, i), a kind of deer. 

havoc (III, i). In the wars of old, havoc was the signal which 
meant that no quarter would be given, and it was spoken by the 
person in command, usually a monarch. Hence Antony refers to 
Ate’s crying “ Havoc! ” “ with a monarch’s voice.” 

hazard (V, i). The word goes back to an Arabic term for dice. 
On the hazard means “ on the throw of the dice.” 
hazards (III, i), dangers, 
health (IV, iii), safety, welfare. 

heart (II, ii). The heart, from ancient times, has been regarded as 
the seat of courage. The word courage goes back to the Latin word 
cor, “ heart.” 

hearts of controversy (I, ii), hearts filled with a spirit of contest, 
heavy (II, i), heavy-hearted, grave (Latin: gravis, “ heavy ”). 
hedge me in (IV, iii), to set restrictions upon me. 
hie (I, iii), hasten. 

high-sighted tyranny (II, i). Rrutus compares tyranny to a hawk 
or falcon ranging the air at a great height in search of prey, 
hilts (V, iii), the handle of the sword; hilt. 

hinds (I, iii). This word has two meanings, both of which apply 
here. A hind is the female of the red deer and notoriously timid. A 
hind is also a peasant, a rustic, an ignorant fellow. 

his luster (I, ii), its shine or gloss. In Shakespeare’s day the form 
its had not yet come into general use; his or it was used instead. 

holds on his rank (III, i), holds on to his place, remains unmoved 
by any pleas or prayers. 

hollow (IV, ii), false, deceitful, not sincere or faithful, 
honor in one eye (I, ii), let one of my eyes see honor before me, and 
the other see death. 

honorable-dangerous consequence (I, iii), the consequences, or 


162 GLOSSARY 

results, of this enterprise will be dangerous, but they will bring honor 
with them. 

hooted (I, ii), raised a cry, shouted applause. 

hot at hand (IV, ii), full of spirit when they are starting out. 

How! How is it that you are here? (II, i) or, Why is it that you are 
in this sad condition? 

humor (II, i; II, ii), whim. During the Middle Ages it was believed 
that the body contained four humors: blood, phlegm, black bile, 
yellow bile; and that a man’s “ humor ” at any particular moment 
depended on which one of these happened to predominate. Blood 
made a man optimistic or sanguine (Latin: sanguis, “blood”); 
phlegm made him stolid or phlegmatic; black bile made him melan¬ 
choly (Greek: melan, “black”; chole, “bile”); and yellow bile 
made him hot-tempered or choleric (Greek: chole, “ bile ”). The 
word might also mean vapors or moistures outside the body — “ the 
humors of the dank morning.” 

humor me (I, ii), play upon my moods. 

humor the true bent (II, i), I can bend his inclination or mood into 
the direction we wish. 

hurtled (II, ii), clashed. There was a noise as if one side had hurled 
itself against the other. 

Hybla bees (V, i). Hybla was a town in Sicily, famous for its 
honey. 

Ides of March (I, ii). March 15. See page lxvi. 
ill officers (IV, ii), officers who have committed evils, 
images (I, i), statues or busts of Caesar. These had been decorated 
with flowers and wreaths, possibly with crowns of laurel, in honor of 
his triumph. 

imminent (II, ii), threatening to take place immediately, hanging 
over me. 

in art (IV, iii), in theory. 

incorporate (I, iii). The Latin corpus means “ body. v Incorporate 
implies that Casca has joined the body of the conspiracy. 

indirection (IV, iii), malpractice, any way which is not honest, 
ingrafted love (II, i). His love for Caesar has made him practically 
a part of Caesar. Just as Brutus thought of Antony as a limb of 
Caesar’s body, so Cassius thinks of him as a bud or scion which has 
been grafted on the tree of Caesar. 

in his own change (IV, ii), because of some change which has taken 
place in his character. 

in some taste (IV, i), in some measure or degree, 
in sort or limitation (II, i), in a certain manner and with restrictions, 
instigations (II, i), goads, spurrings, strong urgings. 
instrument (IV, iii), musical instrument. 

instruments of fear and warning (I, iii), means whereby a fearful 
warning is given that something dreadful is about to happen. 

insuppressive mettle (II, i), the irrepressible quality or courage 
Mettle refers originally perhaps to the temper or quality of a piece of 
metal, like a sword. 

interim (II, i), interval. 

intermit (I, i), stop before it reaches you. Cause to cease tempora¬ 
rily. 


GLOSSARY 


163 


interred (III, ii), buried (Latin: in terra, “ in the earth ”). 
in their bosoms (V, i). I understand their inmost thoughts, 
issue (III, i), action, deed. (Ill, ii), a legal term for “ children.” 
I swore thee (Y, iii), I made thee take an oath. 


jades (IV, ii), tired or worn out horses. 

jealous (I, ii), suspicious, doubtful. The word was usually followed 
by on, and not by of, as it is to-day. 

jigging (IY, iii), vile rhyming, as in a bit of doggerel. 

kerchief (II, i), a handkerchief used as a bandage, 
knave (I, i), a sly, deceitful person. (IV, iii). Sometimes used in 
an older sense as “ boy ” (German: Knabe, “ boy ”). 
knot of us (III, i), we conspirators, our band or group. 


laugher (I, ii), jester, one who scoffs at serious things, 
law of children (III, i). Young children change theirminds readily. 
The “ law of children ” would therefore be no law at all, but whim and 


caprice. 

leaden points (III, i). Because lead is soft, a leaden point would 
not penetrate. 

leaf (IV, iii). Roman books had, of course, no leaves to turn down. 
See page xciii. 

leagues (III, i), three miles. 

let blood (III, i). For many centuries the idea prevailed that ail¬ 
ments could be cured by removing blood from the patient, as by 
opening a vein, through the use of leeches, and in other ways. This 
device was resorted to in all conditions of ill-health, and even well 
persons were bled to prevent the accumulation of supposed harmful 
fluids. 

Lethe (III, i). Death. Ordinarily this word in Shakespeare means 
“ forgetfulness,” in accordance with its derivation from the River 
Lethe, the river of forgetfulness in Hades. Perhaps Shakespeare 
thinks of it as the river of death; or he is using it by mistake for 
another stream of the underworld, Cocytus, a river of blood. 

let’s reason with (V, i), let us discuss and analyze concerning the 
worst possible thing that can happen to us, and decide what we shall 


do in that event. 

levying powers (IV, i), raising or collecting troops, usually by com¬ 
pulsion or conscription. 

live a thousand years (III, i), if I should live, etc. 
low-crooked (III, i). In making a court’sy, one crooks or bends 
the knee. _ 

liable (II, ii), subject. Decius Brutus tells Caesar that his whole 
reasoning faculties are commanded by his love for him. 

liable to fear (I, ii), subject to sensations of fear. If, in other words, 
a man like Caesar could possibly be afraid of anything, 
lief (I, ii), gladly, 
light (V, iii), alight, dismount 

like friends (II, ii). Brutus reflects that to be like a friend is 
not exactly the same as really being a friend. 

littered (II, ii), born. , 

lottery (II, i), a scheme, forbidden by law in the United btates, by 


164 


GLOSSARY 


which prizes are awarded through the casting of lots. Here Brutus 
uses the word as synonymous with chance or whim, 
lovers (III, ii; V, i), friends, well-wishers. 

Lupercal (I, i). See page xxvi. 
lusty (II, ii), vigorous. 

mace (IV, iii). The mace was an instrument of authority carried 
by a bailiff or sheriff’s officer. It was a heavy staff wholly or partly of 
metal. The bailiff touched a person on the shoulder with this, as a 
sign that he was arrested. So slumber touches Lucius, 
main opinion (II, i), strong or decided opinion, 
make conditions (IV, iii), know the terms on which offices are to be 
given out. 

make forth (V, i), go forward. The generals of this line refers to 
Brutus and Cassius. 

make head (IV, i), make headway, oppose by a forward movement, 
progress. 

makes to (III, i), makes his way toward. 

man of any occupation (I, ii), a commoner, a mechanic, not a gentle¬ 
man. 

mark of favor (II, i), distinguishing feature of their faces. 

Marry (I, ii), indeed, in truth. An anachronism, since this inter¬ 
jection is derived from the name of the Virgin Mary, 
mart (IV, iii), market. 

means (II, i), power; the men, money, influence he can control, 
mechanical (I, ii), followers of a trade, 
meet (I, ii; III, ii), fitting, proper. 

merry (II, iv; III, ii), cheerful, in good spirits, not necessarily 
boisterous, as in the modern sense. 

mettle (IV, ii), ardor, eagerness, enthusiasm. 

mischiefs (IV, i). The word in Shakespeare’s time differed in two 
ways from our modern word mischief. In the first place, it might be 
used in the plural. In the second place, it had a stronger meaning: 
harm, injuries, calamities. _ . x . 

misgiving (III, i), my presentiment, or anticipation of some evil, 
always turns out very much to the purpose; in other words, I am 
usually right when I have a foreboding of some ill to happen. 

mistook (I, ii), a form used in Shakespeare’s time. We say mis¬ 
taken. 

mistrust (V, iii), suspicion or doubt, 
moe (II, i; V, iii). Elizabethan for more. 
modesty (III, i), moderation. 

monstrous quality (I, iii), the condition of being a monster — that 
is, a creature that is different in form or structure or nature from its 
fellows: a five-legged pig, an owl that hoots at noonday, men all on 
fire walking up and down the streets. 

more wonderful (I, iii), more wonderful than usual, especially re¬ 
markable. 

mortal instruments (II, i), the physical means by which a deed is to 
be executed. The genius or soul takes council with the body, as to how 
the “ dreadful thing ” is to be performed; and the hideous nature of 
the proposed deed throws the whole mind into disorder, as if it were a 
little kingdom suffering from an insurrection, or rebellion. 


GLOSSARY 


165 


mortified (II, i), deadened, insensible, sick to death, 
most free (II, i), least restrained, least observed, 
murther (II, ii), an old form of murder. 
mutiny (III, i), violent commotion, tumult. 

napkins (III, ii), handkerchiefs. 

naughty (I, i), used to mean wicked or worthless, not merely mis¬ 
chievous. 

neat’s leather (I, i). Neat are cattle of the ox kind, as distinguished 
from horses, sheep, and goats. 

Nervii (III, ii), a tribe in Belgic Gaul which occupied the country 
between the Sambre and the Scheldt. They formed part of a con¬ 
federacy, against which in 57 b.c., the second year of Csesar’s com¬ 
mand in Gaul, he led his legions. The Nervii rallied their forces for a 
struggle to the death. They surprised the Romans while the latter 
were preparing their camp and very nearly swept Caesar and his 
veterans off their feet by their furious charge. But the steady dis¬ 
cipline of the Romans prevailed, and later the Nervii were not only 
defeated but annihilated. Caesar treated the few who survived with 
compassion. The victory was regarded as one of the greatest in 
Roman history. 

new-added (IV, iii), with new numbers, reinforced, 
nice (IV, iii), insignificant, unimportant. d 
niggard (IV, iii), supply sparingly. 

night-gown (II, ii), an anachronism. Probably a dressing gown or 
an elaborate bath robe. 

none so poor (III, ii). The and preceding this expression is equiv¬ 
alent to with. The meanest man is now too high to do reverence to 
the fallen Caesar. 

nor . . . nor (II, ii). We should say neither . . . nor. 
noted (IV, iii), branded with a mark or indication showing that he 
is in disgrace. 


objects (IV, i), sights, spectacles, something which excites feeling, 
obscurely (I, ii), indirectly, not clearly, 
observe you (IV, iii), pay respect to you. 
o’er-read (III, i), to read or look over. 

o’ershot myself (III, ii), gone beyond the mark, told more than I 
intended to tell. 

o’ersway him (II, i), make him change his mind by my influence, 
o’erwatched (IV, iii), worn out with too much watching, 
of force (IV, iii), perforce, necessarily. 

of repeal (III, i), as a result of his banishment’s being repealed, 
old Brutus (I, iii), the Brutus who had driven the Tarquin out, 
Marcus Brutus’s revered ancestor, to whom he looked back for 
guidance and inspiration. 

Olympus (III, i; IV, iii), the mountain in Thessaly, Greece, where 
'the gods were supposed to dwell. See page xxiii. 
once (IV, iii), some day. 

only I yield to die (V, iv), I yield only in order to die. 
on their charge (V, i), whenever they attack, 
orchard (II, i; III, ii), garden or arbor. 


166 GLOSSARY 

ordered honorably (V, v), with all ceremonies arranged in a way to 
show him honor. 

order of his funeral (III, i), the prescribed arrangement or service 
for his funeral. . . 

ordinance (I, iii), that which has been ordained, bee explanation ol 
quality and kind. 

orts (IV, i), fragments, scraps, refuse. 

our yoke and sufferance (I, iii), our sufferance of a yoke — that is, 
our endurance of tyranny; show that we have become effeminate. 

out (I, i). Used first by the Second Citizen to mean “ out of 
temper”; then to mean “ out at heels.” 

own proper (V, iii), own individual. The two words mean practically 
the same thing; one intensifies the other. 

painted (III, i), decorated. 

palm (I, ii), often awarded and carried as a symbol of success and 
rejoicing. 

palter (II, i), fail to live up to their pledges, play fast and loose, use 
trickery. 

part the glories (V, v), share the glories. 

Parthia (V, iii), a country to the southeast of the Caspian Sea. 
The inhabitants were probably of Turkoman stock. 

passion (III, i), compassion, pity, sorrow. 

path (II, i), walk. If you go forth in the light of day with your 
natural appearance undisguised by means of deceiving smiles, nothing 
can prevent you from being discovered. 

part the numbers (III, ii), divide the crowd. 

passions of some difference (I, ii). “ Passions ” are strong feelings. 
The phrase is explained later in the line, “ poor Brutus, with himself 
at war.” 

phantasma (II, i), the product of fantasy: an illusion, vision, or 
dream. 

Philippi (FI-lip'-p!) (Dr. Per.) a city in Macedonia, Greece, about 
ten miles from the TSgean Sea. 

philosophy (IV, iii). Brutus was a Stoic, one of a sect of philos¬ 
ophers who held that no evil could really befall a good man, inasmuch 
as he would bear all misfortune and pain with patience and fortitude. 
See page 117. 

physical (II, i), according to physic, or the art of medicine; whole¬ 
some, conducive to good health. 

pit (V, v), the edge of the trap — as if of an animal hunted to the 
edge of a pitfall. 

pitch (I, i). Height, altitude. 

plucked me ope his doublet (I, ii), he plucked open his doublet 
while I was looking on. The me implies merely Casca’s deep interest 
in the matter; it is to be explained grammatically as a dative. 

Plutus (IV, iii), the god of the underworld and of the treasures of 
the earth. See page xxv. 

Pompey (V, i). Pompey, it is said, was compelled to fight the- 
battle of Pharsalia against his better judgment, because of the im¬ 
patience of his followers. 

Pompey’s basis (III, i), the base of Pompey’s statue. 

Pompey’s Porch (Recall I, i, iii), a portico of Pompey’s theater. 


GLOSSARY 


167 


near the Campus Martius. Here stood a splendid statue of Pompey. 
Was it appropriate that the conspirators should meet here? 

portentous things (I, iii), things that carry with them a portent — 
a prophecy that something evil is about to occur. 

portents (II, ii), signs portending or prophesying evil things to come, 
posture (V, i), probably position or nature is meant, 
powers (IV, iii), forces, 
praetor (I, iii). See page liii. 

praying on his side (IV, iii), interceding in his behalf, pleading for 
him. 

prefer (III, i), proffer, present; (V, v) recommend, 
preformed faculties (I, iii), those faculties or functions with which 
they had been endowed prior to their creation. See explanation of 
quality and kind. 

pre-ordinance (III, i), laws or regulations handed down from the 
beginning, those ordained from ancient times. 

presage (V, i), foretell. The Epicureans did not believe in signs 
and omens, as did the Stoics and others. Now Cassius is ready to 
believe that the gods are foretelling the ruin of his cause. 

presently (III, i; IV, iii), at once. Note that this older meaning 
differs entirely from the modern sense, “ in a little while.” To express 
the latter idea, the Elizabethan said “ Anon.” 

present sacrifice (II, ii). Present here is an adjective meaning 
“ immediate.” In ancient times, among many peoples, offerings of 
animals, fruits, flowers, adornments, and other objects were made to 
the gods. In the case of an animal, the priests would examine the 
body after it had been slain, and they would deduce from the con¬ 
dition of the parts within what thoughts the gods were supposed to 
have with reference to the person who had made the offering. See, 
on page 110, the account of auguries. 

prevent (II, i; V, i), anticipate, forestall. 

prevention (III, i), we fear that our enterprise may be prevented or 
forestalled. 

pricked in number (III, i; IV, i), nominated among the number, 
as if by placing a puncture opposite the name in a list. Perhaps 
Cassius is thinking of a piece of parchment containing such a list, on 
which the use of a sharp instrument would be appropriate, 
prithee (II, iv; V, v), pray thee, 
proceeding (II, ii), progress, advancement. 

prodigies (I, iii), events contrary to the regular course of nature, 
something one cannot explain by saying, “ These are their reasons; 
they are natural.” 

produce his body (III, i), carry and show his body, 
profess myself (I, ii), call myself everybody’s friend; or, perhaps, 
provide public banquets for the common rabble instead of confining 
myself to a few choice friends. 

proof (V, i). A person offers an argument and then follows it up 
with proof. Similarly the “ sweat ” of argument will be followed by 
the “ redder drops ” of proof. 

proper (I, i), handsome, fine. t 

property (IV, i), a mere means to an end, an instrument, a cats 

^^proscription (IV, i), a list of persons proscribed: that is, of those 


168 


GLOSSARY 


whose property is forfeited, or who have been condemned to death or 
outlawed. In Rome, during the decline of the republic, such proscrip¬ 
tions, made by one party against another, were common, and were 
among the causes which led to the overthrow of the commonwealth. 

puissant (III, i), powerful. The word is applied only to princes 
and potentates. 

pulpits (III, i) an elevated place or rostrum for speakers, 
purgers (II, i), purifiers, those who cleanse of guilt, 
put on (II, i), betray, show. Plutarch says of Brutus that he fol¬ 
lowed his own counsel. “ When he was out of his house, he did so 
frame and fashion his countenance and looks that no man could dis¬ 
cern he had anything to trouble his mind.” 

put to silence (I, ii), removed from their offices, possibly killed. 

quality and kind (I, iii), “change” is understood here — it is 
expressed two lines below. Cassius says that, if Casca would con¬ 
sider the real reason why it is that animals (like the owl and the lion) 
change from the qualities natural to them, why old men act like fools 
and children show themselves able to do things beyond their years, 
why all these things change from the laws laid down for them, he 
would understand that a warning is being conveyed of some dreadful 
event about to happen. 

quarrel (II, i), the complaint, the accusation against Caesar, 
quartered (III, i), cut to pieces by the hands of marauding soldiers, 
question (II, i). One of the most famous soliloquies in Shakespeare 
— that in which Hamlet tries to decide whether or not he shall 
commit suicide — begins with the line, “ To be or not to be, that is the 
question.” 

question of his death (III, ii). It was the custom in the Roman 
Senate to write important decrees and decisions on tablets, for future 
preservation. Brutus states that the reason of Caesar’s death has 
thus been made a matter of official public record in the Senate and 
that it has been shown there that his killing was an act for the public 
good. 

quick mettle (I, ii), of high and lively spirit, 
quick spirit (I, ii), liveliness, love of a good time. 

rabblement (I, ii), rabble. 

rank (III, i), having an excessive amount of blood. See let blood 
in this glossary. 

rascal (IV, iii), wretched, mean, paltry. 

rash humor (IV, iii), humor or disposition’tending to rashness, or 
anger. 

rated (II, i), scolded severely. 

rebel blood (III, i). A person of rebellious mood is thought of by 
Caesar as “ hot-blooded.” He prides himself on his coldness, and says 
that sweet words cannot melt him into doing an unlawful act. 
redress (II, i), the setting right of the injuries we have suffered, 
relics (II, ii), from the Latin relinquere , “ to leave behind.” The 
remains of important or sacred persons have always been regarded 
with reverence and awe. The bone of a martyr, a lock of a poet’s 
hair, a book or a walking-stick owned by Lincoln, objects like these are 
carefully preserved by the institutions or persons who own them. 


GLOSSARY 


169 


remorse (II, i) , conscience or a sense of mercy, 
rendered (II, ii). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, one 
obsolete meaning of this word is “ repeated ” or “ recited.” 
repealing (III, i), recalling a person from exile, 
replication (I, i), repetition, echo. 

resolved (III, i; IV, ii), informed, made certain, convinced. (Ill, ii). 
The blood of Caesar rushed out, when the blow was struck, in order to 
make clear that it was Brutus who knocked, whether unkindly or not. 
respect not (IV, iii), pay no heed to. 

retentive (I, iii), can retain, or hold back, a man’s spirit if it be 
strong enough. No prison or captivity, that is, can prevent a person 
from committing suicide. 

rheumy and unpurged air (II, i). Night air was believed to cause 
rheumatism and other ailments, because it had not been purged, or 
purified, by the sunlight. 

right form of war (II, ii), in battle formation, 
rived (I, iii; IV, iii), split. 

Sardis (Dr. Per.), a city in Asia Minor. 

savage spectacle (III, i), such a sight as one might expect among 
savage, not civilized people. 

saving of (V, iii), when I saved, 
saucy (I, iii), impudent. 

scandal them (I, ii), talk scandal or run down the character of 
persons whom, a short while before, I had been seen talking to as 
close friends. 

schedule (III, i), originally, in the Greek, a tablet or leaf; hence, a 
writing or a document. Later the word came to mean a printed list or 
inventory. 

second him (III, i), endorse what he says, as one who seconds a 
motion in a meeting. 

scope (IV, iii), full play, room to work in. 

search (V, iii), probe until you find my heart; possibly, pierce, 
second fight (V, iii). According to history, the two battles were 
twenty days apart. Shakespeare compresses the time for dramatic 
effect. 

secret (II, i), secretive, secret-keeping, 
security (II, iii), self-confidence. 

sennet (I, ii), a signal call on the trumpet, used on the Elizabethan 
stage to indicate an exit or an entrance, 
servile (I, i), slavish, 
sensible of (I, iii), sensitive to. 

set honor (I, ii), let honor and death appear before me at the same 
time, and I will look on both with complete lack of fear, 
set on your foot (II, i), go ahead. 

set our battles on (V, iii), move our battalions forward. 

severally (III, ii), separately. 

shadow (I, ii), reflection in a mirror. 

shape (II, i), outward appearance. 

shrewdly (III, i), keenly, aptly, cleverly. 

signed in thy spoil (III, i), bearing the sign that they have taken 
you as spoil. Antony employs figures of speech taken from the 
hunting field. 


170 


GLOSSARY 


sirrah (III, i), fellow, as a term of contempt. 

sky (I, iii). The disturbed sky is connected with the idea of bad 
weather. This is not the kind of weather, says Cicero, in which one 
wants to go out walking. 

slanderous loads (IV, i), dishonorable burdens or tasks, 
slight (IV, iii), foolish, silly. 

slight (IV, i), unimportant, weak. * 

slighted off (IV, iii), dismissed slightingly, in a way that showed 
contempt. 

smatch (V, v), smack, tincture. 

sober form (IV, ii), solemn, serious appearance. 

softly (V, i), quietly. 

so in use (III, i), in such common use, so common, 
sooth (II, iv), in sooth, in truth. 

soothsayer (I, ii). Literally the word means “ truth-teller.” But 
sooth also means an augury or prophecy, and it is in this sense that 
the word is used. The soothsayer was supposed to be able to predict 
future events. 

so please him come (III, i), if it may so please him to come, 
speed me (I, ii), prosper me, favor me. 

spleen (IV, iii), the organ called the “ spleen ” was in Shakespeare’s 
time considered to be the seat of the passions and of laughter. Here 
Brutus tells Cassius he will have to digest the poison of his fit of 
passion. 

split (IV, iii), burst, tear asunder, 
spurn (II, i), to reject Caesar contemptuously, 
stains (II, ii). See tinctures and relics in this Glossary, 
stake (IV, i). In the cruel sport of bear-baiting, popular for many 
centuries, a bear was tied to a stake, and dogs barked at him and 
worried him. A full description of the sport may be found in Scott’s 
Kenilworth. 

stale with ordinary oaths (I, ii), to cheapen my friendship by pro¬ 
fessing great affection for every new person who comes along. 

staled (IV, i), made stale by constant use. Lepidus, says Antony, 
never takes on a fashion until it is quite out of date, 
stand upon (III, i), regard as important, 
stare (IV, iii), stand on end. 

stars (I, ii). Many people still believe that a person’s destiny in 
life is controlled by the star which happens to be in the ascendant at 
the time of his birth. The so-called science of predicting the future in 
accordance with this belief is called astrology , and from it have come 
such terms as jovial (the planet Jupiter), mercurial (the planet 
Mercury), and others, as applied to people’s characters. So, too, the 
word disaster signifies by derivation “ a baleful or unfavorable star.” 
start (I, ii), as in a foot race. 

Statilius (V, v). Sent out as a scout by Brutus to count the number 
of slain among the enemy, Statilius showed a torchlight as a signal 
that he was on the enemy’s ground. On his return, however, he was 
taken and slain. 

stay (I, iii; III, ii; V, i), wait, await, 
stays me (II, ii), keeps me. 
sterile curse (I, ii), affliction of childlessness, 
stomachs (V, i), inclination. 


GLOSSARY 


171 


store of provender (1Y, i), plenty of hay and grain. 

strain (V, i), family, lineage. 

straight (IV, i; 1Y, iii), straightway, at once. 

strange-disposed time (I, iii), a time in which there is a tendency 
for strange things to occur. 

strength of malice (III, i). No satisfactory explanation of this 
phrase has ever been offered. Possibly Brutus means to emphasize 
the contrast between the strength of the arms and the brotherliness 
of the hearts of the conspirators, and he states that they will receive 
Antony with good will despite the deed of ill their arms have just 
performed. 

stretched out (IV, i), made to extend or accomplish as much as 
possible. 

struck fire (I, ii). In Shakespeare’s time fire was produced by 
striking steel against flint, until a spark, caught in some inflammable 
material (called tinder), was generated, 
submitting me (I, iii), exposing myself. 

subtle masters (II, i). Brutus here imagines some sly person who 
gets his followers, by hints that he wants it done, to commit some 
crime, and afterward pretends to chide or scold them. In the same 
way, let our hearts suggest to our hands that they kill Caesar, but 
later let us scold our hands for having done as we wanted them to do. 
Similarly, in King John, the monarch who is hero of that play blames 
Hubert for his too hasty obedience in putting Arthur to death; and it 
is said that Queen Elizabeth, who was anxious to have Mary Queen of 
Scots out of the way, censured those who secured her death, 
suburbs (II, i), outskirts. 

success (II, ii). Their opinions as to whether the enterprise on 
which Caesar was about to engage (the obtaining of the title of king) 
would be successful. See the note on present sacrifice. 

such . . . that (III, i). In modern usage this would be “ such 
. . . as.” 

sudden push (V, ii), a sudden attack, 
sufferance (II, i), suffering, 
suit (III, i), request, petition, 
suitor (II, iii), one asking a favor. 

swallowed fire (IV, iii), committed suicide by swallowing blazing 
bits of charcoal. 

swayed from the point (III, i), turned aside from the question under 
discussion. 

sway of earth (I, iii), the whole weight of this globe, the whole 
order of nature, the rule of natural law. 
swounded (I, ii), swooned, fainted. 

tag-rag (I, ii), a hanging rag or tatter. Vagabonds would be 
dressed in such rags or tatters; hence tag-rag people would mean 
“ the vagabond crowd,” “ the rascally mob.” 
taper (II, i), a small wax candle. 

taper (IV, iii). The flickering or lowering of a candle was believed 
in Shakespeare’s time to indicate that a ghost hovered near. 

^tardy form (I, ii), sluggish, slow manner, appearance of laziness, 
tending to (III, ii), directed toward an account of Caesar’s glories, 
tenor (IV, iii), purport, effect. 


172 


GLOSSARY 


testy humor (IV, iii), snappish, peevish temper. 

Thasos (V, iii), a little island close to the scene of the battle, 
the cause (V, i), let us get to the point. 

the sign of your profession (I, i). It was a law in Shakespeare’s 
time that except on holidays workingmen must carry with them the 
signs or badges of their calling. Of course Shakespeare is here 
transferring to ancient Rome a custom of his own time, 
thews (I, iii), muscles, 
thorough (III, i; V, i), through, 
threefold world (IV, i), Europe, Asia, Africa. 

thunder-stone (I, iii). In olden days certain stones, tapering or 
cyclindrical in form, were supposed to be the result of a streak of 
lightning. Those struck by lightning were believed to have been hit 
by these stones from heaven. 

time of life (V, i), the time at which life ends. 

tinctures (II, ii). Possibly a handkerchief dipped in the blood of 
a saint, as is said to have been a custom during the Middle Ages. 
Once more Shakespeare applies a custom of his own time to that of 
Caesar. See relics in this glossary. 

to be done. Insert “ ought ” before “ to.” 
toils (II, i), nets or snares. 

took it too eagerly (V, iii), followed up his advantage recklessly and 
was outflanked. 

tribunes, (Dr. Per.), representatives of the common people. See 
page xliv. 

tributaries (I, i), those who pay tributes, prisoners of war. How 
does the word apply to rivers? 

triumph (I, i), a great parade, in which the conquering hero, with 
his legions, exhibited the spoils and captives they had taken. See 
page 107. 

triumvirs (Dr. Per.), members of a triumvirate, members of a 
group of three that ruled Rome without legal sanction. See page 
lvii. 

trophies (I, i), memorials or signs of a victory. 

true quality (III, i), the temperature it ought to have. See rebel 
blood in this glossary. 

turn him going (III, iii), let him go. 

two several times (V, v), on two distinct occasions. 

unbraced (I, iii), with my doublet open and my breast exposed, 
unicorns (II, i), a fabled monster with a single horn in the center 
of its forehead and otherwise resembling a horse. It was an ancient 
belief that unicorns could be captured by running behind a tree, into 
which the beast drove its horn; it was believed, too, that beasts 
could be so fascinated with mirrors that the hunter had opportunity 
to take surer aim. 

unmeritable (IV, i), not meritorious, without merit, 
unshak’d of motion (III, i), unshaken in his motions, with perfectly 
steady movement. 

untrod state (III, i), the unknown future, the untried condition of 
affairs. 

upon a heap (I, iii), in the form of a heap, in e group closely huddled 
together. 


GLOSSARY 173 


upon a wish (III, ii), just when I wanted him, at the moment of 
my wish. 

upon one battle (V, i), on the stake of a single battle. 

urge (IV, iii), provoke, exasperate. 

utterance (III, i), distinct utterance or articulation. 


valor (II, i), courage, 
vaunting (IV, iii), boasting. 

veil’d my look (I, ii), prevented my feelings from appearing in my 
eyes. 

ventures (IV, iii), merchandise risked in an enterprise at-sea. 
Companies of traders were often called “ merchant adventurers.” 

vessel (V, v), used here to refer to a person. The Bible often uses 
the word in this sense. 

vile means (IV, iii), means beneath my honor. 

villain (IV, iii). The question asked by Brutus is a strong way of 
stating that every one who killed Caesar did so for the sake of justice; 
otherwise he would have been a villain. 

void (II, iv), empty. . _ , 

vouchsafe (II, i), deign to receive, be good enough to accept, 
(III, i), give a safe-conduct to. <{ 

vulgar, the (I, i). There is a Latin expression mobile vulgus , the 
fickle crowd.” From this has come our English word mob. The 
vulgar means “ the rabble,” “ the common people.” 


wafture (II, i), waving, 
warn (V, i), summon. 

wary (II, i), watchful, careful. As you walk, you must beware. 
waspish (IV, iii), irritable, peevish. 

watch your pleasure (IV, iii), stay awake as long as you wish, 
watch (II, ii). The watch was an institution of Shakespeare s, not 
Caesar’s time. They corresponded to our modern policemen. Shake¬ 
speare makes fun of a typical watchman of his day in the character 
Dogberry, Much Ado About Nothing. . , 

weak straws (I, iii), Caesar is starting the fire by which he hopes 
to illuminate the world with his glory by using Rome as kindling wood 

° r weighing the youthful season (II, i), considering the fact that the 
year is not yet far advanced. 

well given (I, ii), well disposed, friendly, 
well to friend (III, i), for a good friend, 
well urged (II, i), a good suggestion, 
what night (I, iii), what a night, 
whelped (II, ii), borne young. 

whet (II, i), sharpen, as of a knife. , . , 

wind (IV, i), to turn the course of, to wheel, to manage and control. 
Pronounce the i as in bite. 

windows (III, ii), shutters for the windows, 
wit (III, ii), intelligence, understanding. 

with a thought (V, iii), quick as thought, in the twinkling of an eye. 
withholds you (III, ii), prevents you. Hinders you. 
withal (II, i), nevertheless. 


174 GLOSSARY 

with your will (IV, iii), in accordance with your will, 
woe the while! (I, iii), alas! 

wont (I, ii), accustomed. Perhaps Cassius is thinking of the fact 
that some time before this he and Brutus had been rivals in an intense 
political campaign, in which Brutus had got the better of him. 
worth (III, ii), eminence. 

worthy cogitations (I, ii), thoughts worth listening to. 


yearns (II, ii), grieves. 






























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